Slytherin Pride, Hufflepuff Prejudice
by HoodedSpellcaster
Summary: Two boys. Two different families. One school. Meet Ven Zabini and Alistair Nott who are as different as night and day. Follow their story of how they grow up studying in Hogwarts, the most magnificent School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where everything isn't always what it seems to be. Next Generation fic. Slow build. Eventual het and slash pairings.
1. Chapter 1 Letters from Hogwarts

'SLYTHERIN PRIDE, HUFFLEPUFF PREJUDICE'

_Two boys. Two different families. One school._

_Meet Ven Zabini and Alistair Nott who are as different as night and day. Follow their story of how they grow up studying in Hogwarts, the most magnificent School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where everything isn't always what it seems to be._

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything related to it. Recognizable characters and parts of the Harry Potter story line belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, and Warner Bros. respectively. I don't make any profit by writing this. Thank you.

* * *

FIRST YEAR

Chapter 1. Letters from Hogwarts

Near the city of Bristol, in Gloucester to be exact, stood proudly an old and prestige manor. It was surrounded by acres of luscious gardens and fields and for an outsider it was inviting, tantalizing even. But for a reason the people of Gloucester avoided the manor as well as they could. There were rumours about the manor's inhabitants. The rumours held weird things about why the residents of the manor avoided people, and why no one usually even saw them outside the grand building. You see, the manor belonged to wizarding family.

There lived the Zabinis, the Italian purebloods who had decades away moved to the British Isles and taken the manor for themselves.

It hadn't been a surprise Mrs. Zabini, an old yet beautiful witch who had owned the manor, had moved back to Italy to her summer residence in Tuscany when she had managed to marry off Blaise, her only child. Of course it had taken a lot of planning and persuading to find a girl worth Zabini name, and at last she had found a girl just right to fit her son.

Maria Amell was a daughter from a well known Italian wizard family. She was the younger sister Bella Amell, a witch who had been valued for her looks in Southern Wizarding Europe in the late nineties. Maria had just graduated from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic before her arranged marriage with Blaise Zabini in 2001. And like many other arranged pureblood marriages, the union between Blaise and Maria wasn't built on love, but on a hunger to gain more wealth and power.

After their marriage, Blaise and Maria lived alone in the manor for almost five years until Maria had had enough of the angry howlers she was receiving from her mother-in-law.

The library door opened with a creak and a boy stepped in, holding a parchment in his hands.

"Mother."

The woman raised her eyes from the book she had been reading. She was very beautiful with her straight dark hair that reached her lower back and her olive skin but she didn't show any hint of a smile. Instead she looked at the boy in front of her with almost bored expression.

"What is it now, Ven?" she asked in a rather tired tone, her accent giving away her Italian origins.

"I got my letter", the boy said with a tight-lipped smile and handed the letter to the woman.

He had an intelligent look in his eyes – in the calculating almond-shaped hazel eyes that were just like his father's – and his skin was darker than the woman's and yet they managed to look alike.

Ventus Zabini was the boy's name though he preferred being called just Ven. He had, just like every other young witch and wizard in the Britain and Ireland who would turn eleven years old before 30th of September, received his acceptance letter from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He would be attending one of the best wizarding schools in Europe just like his father had done before.

The woman, Maria, handed the letter back to her son after reading it through.

"Bring it to your father," she said and returned back to her book. "And… congratulations."

Blaise Zabini was more interested in his son's letter than Maria. He took an old, moving photograph off the wall from where he had it been attached and sat down to the leather sofa. Ven had actually caught a glimpse of the photo on the wall countless of times but this was going to be the first time Blaise was showing it to him so he sat next to his father to get a better look of it. It looked brand new but the small text in the bottom corner told otherwise.

_Year 1991_.

The children in the picture wore green and silver in their school robes. They stood haughtily in a straight line, most of them having similar, confident expressions.

"Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Theodore Nott," Blaise started and pointed the faces one after another, skipping only the one Ventus knew to be young Blaise.

Ven nodded but didn't interrupt. Instead he watched as Blaise slid his finger on the photograph. Ventus looked carefully at the faces of the other children in the picture.

"Daphne Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, and Tracey Davis," Blaise said and even gave a smallest of pure smiles as he watched the photo. "We were the Slytherin class of the year 1991."

Ven was still looking at the boys in the photograph. It wasn't easy to believe the grown man next to him and the tall but round-faced eleven years old in the moving photo were the same person. They hardly looked alike but everyone knew that people can change when they grow up. And not just by their looks.

"Goyle and Parkinson got married few years after the war, and their daughter is couple years older than you," Blaise told slowly. "She's a Slytherin like her parents. Malfoy instead–"

He pointed at the blonde boy who was a little smaller than the others.

"–married to the younger Greengrass sister. They have a son, about your age."

Ven nodded. It wasn't the first time he heard the Malfoy family being mentioned by his father. He had even shortly met the Malfoys couple times, and none of them had been a happy meeting, not in Mr. Malfoy's opinion at least.

"And then there's Nott," Blaise continued. "He too has a son, same age as you."

Ven studied the scrawny boy who in the picture stood between Blaise and a small blonde girl and nervously fumbled his sleeves. Blaise stood up and put the photograph back to the wall. He crossed his arms, still looking the photograph, and sighed deeply.

"It's more than probable that you three end up in Slytherin as well. And when you do, I want you to keep eye on them."

Ven was more curious than confused by his father's request. "And why so?"

Blaise sat back down and placed his hand on Ven's shoulder.

"Because you can never trust in a Slytherin completely, especially when they come from certain families," Blaise said seriously. "They can become either your friends, or your enemies. Your choice." He paused for a moment and moved his hand away. "There are reasons you'll understand later."

If there was something Ven had learnt during the years it was that his father valued his profession. He did important work, and this had something to do with it. Ven just knew it.

* * *

In the very same day in a friendly neighbourhood in Bexley yet another letter from the very same place had found its way to yet another magical household. No one would ever suspect that something out of ordinary was happening inside the walls of the house, so normal it looked for one who knew nothing about magic. For an unsuspecting muggle there were no sign of flying pans and kettles in the small kitchen, self-writing quills in the study, or the toys that moved without electricity around the house.

That was where the Notts lived.

When the Wizarding War had been over in 1998, Theodore Nott had thought his life had been over before it had even really started. His father had been sentenced to a life imprisonment in Azkaban, a group of Aurors had turned his home upside down and claimed a collection of family heirlooms, and he hadn't finished his seventh year and the idea of going back to Hogwarts seemed so distant. He had felt utterly lost.

Until, during his eight year, the fate had introduced him a witty and beautiful girl called Ana Thompson. She hadn't care he was a Slytherin, or a pureblood, or that he was a son of a Death Eater. She had only cared about the man behind those prejudiced titles. And they had fallen in love.

"Look, mother, look! Look what the owl brought me! It's from Hogwarts!"

A small woman with freckles dusting her round face and wavy blonde hair pulled into a messy ponytail smiled widely. The dimples appeared to her cheeks and she laughed and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Well go show it to Theodore," she said. "I'll make our late breakfast ready."

The boy nodded, and soon the small steps echoed from the staircase when he ran hastily upstairs, the letter in his hands. He opened the first door in the second floor, revealing a study room full of books and parchments in dangerously high piles.

"Father!" the boy called, his big chocolate brown eyes shining. "I got my letter from Hogwarts!"

The tall man behind the desk looked at the boy. "Alistair," he started, writing few words on a piece of parchment. "I have told you not to run in the stairs."

"I'm sorry", the boy said and bowed his head slightly.

The name was called Alistair Nott. His strawberry blonde hair was a mess from running and ruffling and his cheeks were flushed pink, making the freckles over his cheeks clearly stand out. Alistair shared only a slight resemblance with his stoic father. He had the same eye colour but his hair and facial features were from his mother.

He gave the letter to Theodore. "Mother told me to show it to you," he added.

Theodore read the letter and let out a small sigh. Many things had changed since the year 1991 when he had started his studies at Hogwarts. He put the letter back to its envelope and moved it on top of a pile of papers.

"Did she, now?" Theodore asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. "She wants us to go down for lunch, doesn't she?"

"Late breakfast," Alistair corrected. "Will we go shopping soon?" he asked enthusiastically.

The man let out a laugh. "At Saturday," he said. "Yes."

Alistair couldn't hold back a smile.

"There you are!" Ana chuckled when her husband and son appeared to the kitchen door. "Don't just stand there. Sit down! We have bacon, eggs, toast…"

"Father promised we'll go shopping at Saturday," Alistair said proudly when he sat down and took the first bite from his toast. "Will you come with us?"

Ana shook her head. "No, I'll be needed at the Ministry," she said, placing the teakettle on the table. "But you can have some good time with your father, right? Make sure he doesn't look at other women."

Alistair giggled and Theodore rolled his eyes behind the Daily Prophet.

"I've never looked at the other women after I met you," he reminded his wife with a slight smirk. "Or before it," he added. Alistair didn't bother to look away when Ana leaned to kiss Theodore behind the Prophet.

"I know," Ana said with a bright smile. "I know."

_It wouldn't be long until two young boys from two different families would meet each other._


	2. Chapter 2 To Diagon Alley

Chapter 2. To Diagon Alley

The bell clinked when the door was pulled open. Alistair stepped inside the shop and looked curiously around. Everywhere was shelves full of rectangular boxes. A man came running from the upper floor as he had heard the customers to step into his shop.

"Welcome to Ollivanders!" he announced, smiled widely at Alistair and Theodore, and bowed lightly. He had wavy, dirty blond hair and there were very thick sideburns framing his otherwise gentle face. He wasn't as old as Alistair had expected.

The man's strikingly blue eyes met Alistair's. "Here for your first wand?" he asked brightly. Alistair nodded, hesitant at first. The man beamed at Theodore. "Thank you from choosing the Ollivanders Wand Shop," he said. "I'm Garrett Ollivander by the way."

Theodore's lips formed a thin line. "Theodore Nott."

Ollivander shook Theodore's hand, looking him now straight in the eye. "I bet your wand is from us as well." He grinned, not breaking the eye contact with the younger man. "May I see it?"

Alistair smiled when his father gave his wand to the shopkeeper. Ollivander hummed, carefully scrutinizing the wand.

"Mm, yes, indeed. Linden wood and kelpie mane hair, a very interesting combination. 12 and 1/3 inches. Unyielding. Great wand for potion making." Ollivander handed the wand back and Theodore put it back to his pocket. Ollivander nodded approvingly. "My great grandfather had made that one a long time ago. My grandfather always insisted using unicorn hairs, phoenix weathers and dragon heartstrings. This one is one of our more unusual wands."

"How is Mr. Ollivander nowadays?" Theodore asked, referring to the former shopkeeper. The younger Ollivander shook his head and smiled rather sadly.

"He hasn't been the same after the war. Retired from wand making. I took over this place." He beckoned the shop and allowed himself to grin proudly. "I couldn't let the great business go down. After all, we Ollivanders have been at business since 382 B.C and never–"

"Ahem." Theodore interrupted the babbling and shot a pointed glance at the shopkeeper.

"Oh, yes, a wand for young Mr. Nott," Ollivander said a little too enthusiastically. He took a measuring tape from the nearest shelf and summoned a quill and parchment. He took notes while asking questions and taking measures. "Your wand hand, which on it is?" he asked from Alistair. "Left, right?"

"Left," Alistair said and the quill wrote it down.

Ollivander nodded. "Left, yes. Intriguing," he hummed. "Enough."

The measure tape stopped moving and dropped to the floor. Ollivander took a wooden box from the shelf. He picked the wand from inside it and handed it to Alistair. "Birch, dragon heartstring, 11 and half quarter inches. Very supple. Try it."

Alistair waved the wand lightly. Nothing happened and so Ollivander took it from him and placed it on the side table before taking another box from the shelf. Once again Alistair received a wand.

"Hmm, well. What about this one?" Ollivander asked. "Dogwood, phoenix feather core, 10 inches."

The wand made cracking sounds when waved and Alistair quickly gave it back to Ollivander.

"Maybe not this one," Alistair muttered. Ollivander quickly placed the wand back to its box.

"Yes, yes, definitely not that one," he agreed. "It has to be gentler, the core disagreed... What about..."

Ollivander climbed up the ladders and took a box from one of the highest shelves. He grinned and once more gave Alistair a wand. "Sycamore wood, unicorn hair core. 10 and 3/4 inches, quite bendy. Give it a swish."

The wand heated up slightly and released few sparks when Alistair swished it.

Ollivander beamed. "That's it, then," he laughed. "Great wand, will work well with you."

Alistair took a closer look of his very own first wand whist Theodore gave the small amount of galleons to Ollivander. The wand was beautiful and very light. Nothing like his father's wand made of linden or like his mother's cherry wand. He smiled widely.

"Thank you, Mr Ollivander," Alistair said when leaving. Ollivander just waved and grinned. "He was nice," Alistair hummed, clutching the wand box outside the shop.

Theodore nodded. "Glad you liked him."

"You mean you didn't?"

"No, you're right. He was nice to us."

Alistair nodded in understanding. He wasn't stupid. He knew what his father meant though Theodore rarely said anything about it out loud. After the war all known Death Eater families were brought to public knowledge and so Nott Senior's reputation often made people who knew their name suspicious about them. That was the prize for being born into the Nott family, Theodore had once stated. All they could do was to show they weren't evil and carry on with their lives.

Alistair had talked about his grandfather Nott with Theodore. Alistair knew Nott Senior had fought in the War, and he knew he had later been sent to the prison of Azkaban for the crimes he had committed when fighting alongside the Dark Lord. Alistair knew his father hadn't taken part in the War but that didn't change the fact that some people were still prejudiced about the small number of Death Eater descendants.

A small smile curled Alistair's lips. Those prejudiced opinions hadn't stopped his mother from loving his father.

"Where are we going next?" Alistair asked.

Theodore looked at the list of his school supplies. "Madam Malkin's would be a good choice," he said thoughtfully. "Then we would have to visit Flourish and Blotts since you need several school books and... Alistair?"

Alistair had stopped following his father and looked now into a shop his chocolate eyes shining.

"Father?" he started with the smallest hint of pleading evident in his voice. "Can I get an owl? I would take good care of it, I swear," he added.

Theodore looked rather hesitant at first. They didn't have an owl, not anymore at least. With no one to owl he and Ana hadn't bothered to buy one after their last one had passed away due the old age. Theodore had of course had an owl when he had been eleven so how could he say no to his own son when he looked at him like that?

"Sure," he said. "But we should buy everything else first."

Alistair showed a toothy grin. "Robes, books and an apothecary visit?"

Theodore smiled. "What about you go to the bookshop while I'll run some errands and visit the apothecary?" he asked, handing the supply list to his son. "I'll pick you up from there."

* * *

In the Knockturn Alley 13B was located a small and shadowy shop called Borgin and Burkes, owned by Messrs Borgin and Burkes themselves. You wouldn't want to go there if you didn't have the right contacts.

Ven looked around the shop. Inside the protected shelves were collections of dark artifacts from shrunken heads and human bones to the vials the most expensive poisons and again to the thickest books of forbidden arts. Along with many other things, of course. It wasn't his first time at Knockturn Alley. At least once a month Blaise visited several shops there, including the potions shop Mr. Malfoy owned, and occasionally Ven joined him for those visits.

He walked behind his father around the shop until Blaise suddenly stopped. Ven looked curiously what had sparked his father's interest this time. Usually when Blaise noticed something, it meant problems to the artifact's owner. This time there wasn't any artifact.

Instead there was a man. He was taller than Blaise but more weakly built and thin. He was wearing a combination of muggle clothes and wizard robes. No one would have even paid attention on him if they hadn't been where they were.

"Well, well, well," Blaise said, gaining the man's attention. "I didn't think I would run into you here, Mr. Nott."

The man who had just been addressed turned to look Blaise. He didn't look surprised of the sudden meeting, or he just hid it very well.

"Blaise," he said blankly.

"Theodore." Blaise gave a smirk. "Buying something? Or selling, perhaps?"

"Nothing that should affect you or your dignity in the Auror Office," the man said. His eyes were brown, dark brown, and very cold. Blaise sneered like always when someone highlighted the fact he was working for the Ministry of Magic. He was an Auror, and very proud of it. He had specialized especially in the former Death Eater families.

"How peculiar you mention that," Blaise said and glared at Nott. "Isn't your son going to Hogwarts in few days, too?"

Ven gave a small smile when Nott glanced at him. "Yes," he replied, his cold eyes slowly moving back to Blaise. "Indeed he is."

"It's quite a confidence that Draco's son, too, is attending this year," Blaise hummed. Nott glared at him murderously but stayed quiet. "Malfoy, Nott, Goyle, and as far as I know, Rosier, attending Hogwarts. The Dark Lord must be dancing in his grave", he added with a smirk.

Ven had quickly moved out the way when Theodore Nott had marched out from the shop.

* * *

After parting ways with his father Alistair had gone straight to the most known bookshop in Diagon Alley, Flourish and Blotts. He wasn't the only Hogwarts student there; the place was full of children with and without their parents, looking for their books. Alistair looked at the list, then up the shelves. At times like this he found it awful that he hadn't inherited his father's height.

"Need some help?"

Alistair looked to his right to see a copper haired shop assistant. Alistair nodded, smiled politely, and gave the list to the assistant. "Please."

"Sheesh, you're third kid today to be looking for these books and it's not even ten yet, you know?" the assistant said and gave one book after another to Alistair to hold. "Though all this noise makes me think about my time at Hogwarts."

"Which house were you in?" Alistair asked, positively curious.

"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure", the assistant replied with a proud smile. "I was in Ravenclaw. I couldn't have done better in any other house since I like being surrounded by books." The assistant let out a happy sigh. "That's why I was so glad when I got a job from here. I couldn't afford my living if didn't work so books are pretty much a bonus." He scratched the back of his head. "I would say I run a little low on money right now."

Alistair gave a smile. He liked the older boy, poor or not. The assistant, Rory he told his name was, was eighteen and he had graduated in spring. Rory liked speaking about Hogwarts and all its secrets to Alistair, and couple times few other students had stopped to listen as well.

"I like potions," Alistair told when Rory placed Magical Drafts and Potions on top of the pile.

He made a face. "Potions? Yuck!" he snorted. "The teacher was horrible! I heard about this one time when Gryffindor blew up his cauldron and ended up having blue hair! But most of the students already knew his hair changed colours naturally…"

Theodore showed up a little later. He leaned to the shelf and waited patiently though he was still a little peeved after his untoward rendezvous with Blaise Zabini, his old class mate. No one of the Slytherins had taken the news of Blaise becoming an Auror well. Pansy Parkinson had even thrown a fit and left Zabini uninvited to her and Gregory's wedding. Draco instead…

"Father? Are you feeling ill?" Alistair asked, tilting his head in worry. He was holding a fine pile of books which were waiting to be paid for.

"I'm fine," Theodore said with a small smile. Usually Alistair would have suspected something wasn't right but his enthusiasm over books pushed the thought away.

"Welcome back anytime!" Rory called after them, his teeth showing as he grinned widely when Alistair and Theodore were leaving. "Next year at the latest!"

"Next to Madam Malkin's," Theodore said outside the bookshop. Alistair nodded. He was now carrying a cauldron full of books, and his wand was hidden under them. "And then," Theodore added slowly.

"I'll get an owl!" Alistair exclaimed, gaining few looks from the bypassers.

The next hour was used by trying on a robe after robe but when it was over Alistair was almost shaking in delight. He repeated the mantra 'I'm going to get an owl' over and over again. Theodore decided to wait outside when Alistair went into the shop with a pouch full of galleons and sickles.

Alistair's eyes went wide when he saw all the toads, cats, and rats, amongst with the weirdest pets he had ever seen. But what he was really looking for were the owls. Tawny owls, Barn owls, Snowy owls. He smiled widely when the majestic bird in the corner got his attention.

"What kind of owl are you?" he asked, looking curiously at the sleeping creature.

"That, my young friend, is a Eurasian Eagle Owl," the shopkeeper said, startling Alistair in process. "Very difficult to tame but also very loyal if likes its owner. Do you like her?"

"She's beautiful," Alistair whispered.

"And intelligent," the shopkeeper snorted. "She listens to our conversation right now. Fakes to be sleeping."

Alistair smiled. "What's her name?"

"We here call her Iniga," the shopkeeper told, stroking his beard.

"Iniga," Alistair repeated quietly, petting the owl's feathers gently. He let out a silent gasp when the bird leaned to his touch. The shopkeeper smiled knowingly even before Alistair could whisper the magical words: "I'll take her."

Theodore frowned when Alistair walked out the shop, holding a cage where the rather menacing looking owl sat, looking around the alley with her another eye shut.

"You couldn't pick any other owl, couldn't you?" Theodore asked, looking at the owl. Alistair smiled, ignoring his father's tone.

"Iniga is just perfect," he told as the owl let out a horrifying screech. "She's not like any other owl. And she likes me."

The owl glared at Theodore as if he was some kind of threat to Alistair and screeched again.

"I can see that," the man said with a half-amused and half-annoyed smile when Alistair placed the cage on the ground and gave a treat to the bird. "We should head back home," Theodore reminded his son carefully. "Ana's probably there already."

"Do you think mother will like her?" Alistair asked.

"Oh, she will love her," Theodore noted dryly.

* * *

It was late when the door to the Ollivanders Wand Shop opened once again. Ven stepped inside the shop behind his father. Finally, he thought. Maria, his mother, had forbid him from getting a wand until his attendance in either Hogwarts or Beauxbatons had been sure. Ven had waited to see Ollivander since his letter had arrived.

"Welcome to Ollivanders!" Garrett Ollivander greeted them casually. "Ah, Mr. Zabini!" he exclaimed upon recognizing Blaise. "I was waiting for you already."

Ollivander had placed several boxes to the table since he had received all possible measurements for choosing a compatible wand beforehand. He picked one light-looking wand from the box and handed it to Ven with a bright smile.

"Ash and phoenix feather core, 9 and 2/3 quarter inches," Ollivander said. A swish of the wand set a pile of papers on the side table to burst in flames. Ollivander displaced the wand and quickly gave Ven another one to try. "Cherry and unicorn hair, springy. 11 inches," he said, and Ven tried to use it. Yet again with catastrophic results.

"Holly and unicorn hair."

"Linden and dragon heartstring."

"Birch and phoenix feather."

Blaise had sat down and was now tapping his finger on the table surface. He, too, had been difficult to find a wand for so he knew this would take time. But as the minutes passed the pile of boxes on the table was getting smaller and smaller, Ven was getting more frustrated. There were only three boxes left.

"Maple and dragon heartstring. 11 and half inches. Unyielding," Ollivander said giving the wand to Ven. "Give it a wave, please."

And Ven waved. He winced as the wand vibrated slightly and released swirls in the air. He looked at his father. Blaise nodded and Ven let the grin appear to his face. He had a wand. He swished it, conjuring more swirls which disappeared in few seconds.

"Ah, very good!" Ollivander exclaimed. "The wand chooses its wizard," he added, looking at Ven while receiving the payment of seven galleons from Blaise. "Use it well."

* * *

Meanwhile in Bexley, Theodore Nott had gotten a proof that he had indeed been right about his wife once again. Ana Nott had been completely smitten by the grisly owl, and it had been clear that Iniga liked Ana as well. Though the bird was still skeptic about Theodore, it seemed to be part of their mutual agreement to try to get along.

"I can't wait to get to Hogwarts," Alistair told his mother, lying on his bed. Ana had helped to bring Iniga's cage upstairs and decorate Alistair's room safe for the owl. She smiled.

"It's only a week away, dear," Ana said gently and place a small kiss on Alistair's forehead. "Sleep now."

"Goodnight, mother," Alistair said and yawned.

"Goodnight, dear," Ana said, switching the lights off.

Alistair stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. The time he would spend in Hogwarts would be the best of his life.


	3. Chapter 3 The Train Ride

Chapter 3. The Train Ride

Ven sat patiently. His trunk and an owl cage were placed on the seat in front of him. The train was still at the King's Cross Station. Ven was alone in the compartment, looking out from the window with a bored expression.

The people he saw at the Platform 9 ¾ annoyed him. They were loud and rushed from one place to another as if the train wasn't going to wait them to get in it. Tabile, the Zabini family's owl, slept in his cage regardless of the train whistling. Ven snorted, glanced at the sleeping bird. It was so easy to be an owl.

"What a prat," he snarled when two, apparently arguing, boys caught his attention.

The younger one of them seemed to be fighting against the urge to hit the older. Probably to wipe that smirk off his face, Ven thought. He didn't turn his eyes away from the window before he had gotten enough of the endearments the parents showed to their children. It was a double-edged sword. Those little things made him feel uncomfortable, and yet he enjoyed watching how parents hugged and kissed their offspring.

The train began moving slowly.

It didn't take long when Ven's compartment door was opened. There stood a young boy, probably a first year student like Ven, with red trimmed grey eyes and slicked back platinum blonde hair. He reminded Ven of someone. He sniffed.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know this compartment was already taken…" The boy sniffed again. "Umm... Would you mind if I sat here?"

The boy held his head up and tried his best to look confident. Ven raised his eyebrow, considering the request. Sat here with him? He had actually wanted to be alone but having company wouldn't hurt. The poor kid probably had no place to go anyway. Finally Ven shrugged and the other boy pulled his trunk into the small compartment. He sat on the other end of the seat where Ven sat. The boy gave a slight but grateful smile and they sat in silence.

It took a while before neither of them uttered a word.

"I've seen you before," the boy said finally. "You came to our shop few weeks ago with an Auror."

Ven glanced at the boy. "So you're a Malfoy."

The blonde nodded hesitantly. "I am."

So that was the son of Draco Malfoy, Ven thought. No wonder he had looked familiar, the boy was like a mirror image of young Mr. Malfoy from the photograph he had seen in his father's study room.

Ven gave a grin. "I'm Ven, Ven Zabini."

"Scorpius," the boy said. "Scorpius Malfoy."

* * *

"I can't do this," Alistair muttered. He had started getting second thoughts about going to Hogwarts. His lower lip trembled as he watched the scarlet steam engine. Soon it would take him to place where he would stay for the better part of his live. "I most certainly can't do this," he repeated more firmly and glanced at his mother.

"It will be fine, dear," Ana reassured him. "And you won't be there alone. You'll get many friends and have lots of fun."

"The school is for studying," Theodore noted dryly, making both his wife and son glance at him.

"Theodore!" Ana groaned and slapped her husband's shoulder disapprovingly. Then she turned back to Alistair and smiled warmly. "Well, it's true that you would need to study hard. But that doesn't mean you can't have fun while studying."

Alistair gave a weak smile. "If you say so," he mumbled

He wasn't very sure would he have any fun at all. Before this he had studied in a muggle school and he had many friends there. What if his new classmates and professors wouldn't like him? What if they would bully him? He was a lot less eager about him going to Hogwarts than his mother was.

"Now let's find you a compartment, shall we?"

And after a while, Alistair's trunk was moved to an empty compartment and Alistair was saying his goodbyes to his parents.

"And remember to write to us," Ana said with a smile blasted on her face. "I want to know everything about your friends and teachers and..."

"Let him go to the school first," Theodore said to her. "Alistair. Be good," he added.

"I-I'll try," Alistair replied. "Bye, mother. Father."

"Bye, dear!" Ana waved at him. "We'll see you at Christmas!"

Alistair sighed when he was at last in his compartment, sitting alone in silence. The train wouldn't move an inch in the next half an hour and his only company, Iniga, had fallen asleep.

"At least you can sleep here," Alistair muttered at the owl before picking his copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ from his trunk and starting reading. He startled when his compartment door was roughly pushed open after couple hours of peace. A boy stood there panting and holding tightly a basket where sat the ugliest toad Alistair had ever seen. It stared at him with its big googly eyes.

The boy was not much taller than Alistair and his skin was darker, almost mocha coloured. He awkwardly ran his free hand through a mess of dark brown hair and gave a crooked grin.

"Hey, can I sit here?" he asked but was practically already closing the door. "The other compartments are quite full –" He grinned. "– and I think I just made a bunch of enemies."

Alistair just nodded, bemused, and the stranger sat across from him.

The boy flashed yet another grin. "I'm Toby Jones, by the way," he said brightly.

"Alistair Nott," Alistair said, finding it polite to introduce himself as well.

"You're first year, right?" Toby asked.

"Yes."

"Cool! Me too!"

Alistair gave him a smile before a loud croak caught his attention. He frowned at the toad in the basket. The toad still seemed to look at him like he was a giant, tasty-looking fly. It was alarming, really.

Toby grinned. "His name is Snuffles," he said. "He seems to like you."

Alistair suppressed his wish to grimace. Instead he raised his eyes to meet Toby's.

"What did you do to make enemies?" he asked. He was determined to learn how to not to have those. You see, having enemies didn't really engage his attention. Toby let out barking a laugh, awaking Iniga. The owl hooted at the stranger.

"Nothing much," Toby said. "I just gave them few candies I had bought earlier."

"But isn't that nice thing to do?" Alistair stated, even more curious now.

"It would have been if I haven't bought them from the Weasleys' joke shop." Toby snickered. "It was worth it, though."

Alistair nodded. So, joke candies. He, too, had visited the famous joke shop at Diagon Alley with his mother. His father had never been a fan of the things they sold there. In his opinion they were degrading and immature.

"And they were Slytherins anyway so no real harm done," Toby added as a joke. Alistair just shrugged. He had nothing against Slytherins. After all, there were many in his family tree. Iniga hooted again. Alistair took an owl treat from his bag and feed it to her.

"Nice owl you have," Toby said, looking at Iniga.

"Thanks," Alistair replied.

"If it eats Snuffles, you'll pay for it."

Alistair chuckled, though he wasn't sure was the boy joking or not.

* * *

Ven was surprised how well he was getting along with the young Malfoy heir. He had indeed decided to try becoming friends with the blond the moment he realized who he was but it was happening far more naturally than he had imagined.

Scorpius was nothing like the pureblood prats Ven was used to spend his time with in Italy. Scorpius was polite and intelligent for an eleven year old. Ven actually liked him as an equal to himself. And Scorpius seemed to appreciate the comfortable silence between them as much as Ven did. Of course Ven couldn't mention anything Death Eater related to Scorpius. That would have been inconsiderate. He didn't even ask him why Scorpius had cried before; he had already reasoned it out, and Scorpius had been visibly relieved for not having to talk about it.

"Is that a good book?" Ven asked after a while, taking a look at the book the blond was reading.

Scorpius gave a smile. "Quite interesting, actually," he replied and turned the page. "I like Transfiguration. It's fascinating. I think I should–"

There was someone running at the train corridor. The steps stopped behind their compartment door and it was roughly pulled open.

"Malfoy!"

The boy who had just came into their compartment huffed loudly and tried to fix his raven hair before glaring at Ven and Scorpius murderously. His eyes were like blazing emeralds. Ven recognized him to be one of the two boys he had watched earlier. The boy glowered at them.

He pointed rudely at Scorpius and yelled:

"There's no way I'm going to lick your shoes!"

"Wha-what?" he stammered, looking at the other boy his eyes wide open. Scorpius stared at his offender. He was seriously shocked of the ridiculous statement. After all the insults he had heard that was something completely else.

Ven couldn't help it. He burst into laughter just by looking the staring contest between two boys.

The black haired boy turned his gaze at Ven. "What's so funny?" he asked through his teeth so the question sounded more like a hiss.

"You can't seriously believe that _he_ would make you lick his shoes?" Ven said and the boy glanced at Scorpius. Ven found it completely hilarious that the boy was saying something like that about Scorpius of all people! The boy's gaze hardened and he glared now at Ven. Ven glared back at him. "And after all it would be polite to introduce oneself when one so rudely comes to someone else's compartment to make ridiculous statements," he added snidely, holding back a smirk.

The boy huffed. "I'm Albus Potter," he said and crossed his arms. "And I've heard from a trustworthy source that Malfoys are pompous, slimy Slytherin gits who think they're better than everyone else and they..." His tone wavered in the end.

After all, Scorpius was glaring at Albus Potter but behind his steel grey eyes glowed hurt. His lower lip trembled and he was clearly holding back tears. Albus was taken aback by the look he was receiving from young Malfoy. The blond had managed to look like a kicked puppy. A very angry kicked puppy.

"Do you think that's funny?" he hissed quietly, the sound mixing with a sniff. "Because I don't think so! I'm not and I don't even try to better than anyone else!" He sniffed again. "I know what kind of people there has been in our family, I know our reputation better than you do, _Potter_. But I'm me, no one else. I'm Scorpius – not Draco, not Lucius – not anyone else but me. What makes it so hard to understand, huh?" Tears were streaming down his cheeks. "I'm not even at Hogwarts yet and I already want to go back home since people don't give me a chance to show I'm not like them!"

Albus looked abashed by Scorpius' outburst and so did Ven. Scorpius dug a silver-lined tissue he from his pocket and blew his nose. "Happy now?" he muttered.

Ven sighed. If you took away all politeness and intelligence along with the Malfoy charm Scorpius Malfoy was pretty much a cry-baby.

* * *

Alistair was getting along with Toby rather well. The boy was anything but shy and silent. He enjoyed talking about Quidditch – Alistair had now heard more about Falmouth Falcons at one sitting than ever before – and of course Toby couldn't shut up about Hogwarts. He told Alistair absolutely everything he already knew about the school. It was actually very interesting. Alistair had read about Hogwarts but it was nice to listen what other people thought about it. After all, his father didn't really like talking of his Hogwarts years in any form and his mother was much the same.

Toby grinned widely, opening his chocolate frog package. They had bought a large pile of chocolate, cauldron cakes and other treats from the trolley but unlike Toby, Alistair had decided to place most of them into his trunk for later. He knew they wouldn't be allowed to go Hogsmeade before their third year so he was saving sweets for some rainy day.

"Who did you get?" Alistair asked.

"Nymphadora Tonks," Toby replied easily and gave the card chocolate to Alistair for closer looking. "I've got almost the whole Order. Just missing Emmeline Vance and Prewett brothers."

Alistair looked at the pink haired witch in the card before giving it back to Toby.

"She was some badass badger," Toby continued and put the card into his pocket. "Hufflepuff, I mean," he corrected. "You're not a muggle-born so you know about the houses and stuff, right?"

Alistair nodded. "I know."

"Well, I'm pretty sure I'll be in Hufflepuff, or Gryffindor. Hopefully in Hufflepuff," Toby said. "My ma and pa were both badgers." He smiled and began opening another frog. "I'll show some real badger pride, too. Make them proud. Oh, Gothel again. I already have her…"

Alistair's face fell and he put aside his box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. He hadn't really thought about what house he would be in. After all, Theodore had been a Slytherin but Ana was a Gryffindor to the core. Would he disappoint either of them by getting sorted into a wrong house? Alistair bit the inside of his cheek. He wasn't very ambitious, nor was he courageous. He was just plain. He sighed and stared at his lap.

Toby gave him a reassuring smile. "Hey, you know," he started. "It would be cool to be in the same house together."

"I don't think will I fit in Hufflepuff," Alistair said quietly.

Toby looked bemused by the statement. "And why not?" he asked.

Alistair shrugged. It was true that Hufflepuff was the most accepting House – if you didn't fit anywhere else, your place would be in Hufflepuff. Hufflepuffs were known to be just and loyal and fair… But most of the Death Eaters had been in Slytherin. Alistair knew the Hat would want to put him there.

There was a knock and compartment door was opened. There stood a tall girl with shining blonde hair and kind face. She was already in black school robes. There were Gryffindor's red and gold on her tie and a prefect badge shining in her chest.

"We will arrive soon, so robes on," she said in a slight French accent.

The conversation between two boys was forgotten in a hurry.

* * *

Ven was satisfied when Albus had, after minutes of uncomfortable silence, apologized to Scorpius and the blond had stopped crying. The young Potter had decided to stay the rest of the journey with Ven and Scorpius, and the atmosphere in the small compartment had been awkward for a while.

But eventually, Albus and Scorpius realized they had more in common than they had thought. Whereas Scorpius was almost publicly harassed because of his Death Eater heritage and pureblood lineage, Albus was known to be the younger son of the Boy-Who-Lived. There wasn't a single man or woman who didn't know who Albus' father, the Head-Auror and defeater of the Dark Lord, was. Everyone knew who Harry Potter was. He was famous.

"But I don't want people to know my name because of my father," Albus spat. "Or because of my brother." He spitefully mentioned his older brother who was constantly making fun of him. "He thinks he's some sort of 'Marauder' because he's named after two of them. James Sirius, tch." Albus crossed his arms. "I'm nothing like him, and I don't even want to be."

It had been James who had sent Albus to Scorpius in the first place, and he probably found his little joke amusing and was somewhere laughing at it with his friends.

Albus sighed. "My dad, mum, brother… And all my family members from mum's side, and dad's parents, and his godfather… They've all been in Gryffindor," he told Ven and Scorpius. "Everyone I know. All in Gryffindor. No pressure at all." He was quiet for a moment. "Well, except dad's godfather's brother. Our house elf Kreacher likes to talk about him. He was a Slytherin", he added and his face fell. "James actually said I could, too, get sorted into Slytherin."

"Would it be so bad?" Scorpius asked, seeing the downhearted expression.

Ven smirked. "Green and silver would match your eyes."

"I don't know," Albus admitted and smiled a little at Ven's attempt to joke. "My whole life I've thought Slytherins are gits like James and Uncle Ron say but… I don't really know anymore."

He looked at the two other boys in the compartment whose parents were from Slytherin. And they were nice. Ven instead was confident about getting into Slytherin. He didn't even have such family problems like Albus and Scorpius. His father wasn't known so well outside the Auror office and the small circle of former Death Eater families he kept track of. Or pestered, as Scorpius had put it.

"My father hates it when he comes to our shop," he had said. "He just asks questions he already knows the answers for. And never buys anything."

There was a knock at the door before a fair-haired Gryffindor girl looked into the compartment. Albus' eyes widened in recognition and he grinned widely.

"Dominique!" he exclaimed. "You're a prefect! They made you a prefect?!"

The girl smiled brightly at the attention she was receiving but her expression soured when she noticed what kind of company Albus was having.

"Albus," she started. "James told me you left and didn't come back." Albus' smile disappeared as well. "He's worried about you," Dominique said.

Albus snorted at the statement. James had only been happy about sending him to make a fool out of himself. "That's what he says," he whispered.

Dominique frowned. "And what kind of company you choose to 'ave", she said quietly, glancing quickly at Ven but looking mostly at Scorpius with clear disdain. That caught Albus' attention from ignoring his cousin.

"Don't you dare to say anything bad about my friends," he snarled. Dominique's eyes widened and she pouted.

"Your father isn't going to like zis," she said but Albus just smirked.

"Oh really?" he said. "If I remember correctly, what my father likes is none of your business."

Dominique gave an offended huff before she turned to leave. "Put your robes on. We'll arrive soon," she stated coolly before continuing to the next compartment. She practically slammed the door shut.

"So, were now your friends?" Ven asked smugly.

Albus nodded, and Scorpius looked like he was going to cry once again.

* * *

Alistair hesitantly left Iniga and his trunk to the train when they arrived to the Hogsmeade Station and the students were moving out to the platform. Toby wasn't worried about his belongings at all. He merely huffed at Alistair about worrying so much and told him their trunks would be transferred to the castle. It was already late but Alistair was way too nervous to be tired.

On the platform was a very tall and broad, more like gigantic, man in an old moleskin overcoat. He had bushy, greying hair and his face was covered by a thick, tangled beard. He was holding a lantern which was one of the few light sources of the night.

"First years this way!" he called in a rough voice. "This way I say! No wandering! Oh hey, Al. Yer getting big."

Alistair could see three kids talking with the giant man whilst the rest of the first year students hesitantly approached the man. Toby seemed to be very excited about their ride to Hogwarts and was babbling about it to Alistair when they walked behind the man and left the station.

The children walked through a forest path, following the giant man until they reached a dark lake. It was illuminated by the dim moonlight and its surface reflected the Hogwarts castle in its all glory.

"Boats!" Toby cried out when he saw small boats by the lake.

"Only four in one boat!" they heard the bushy bearded man say. "No more or yer gonna swim to school!"

Toby jumped into a small boat, Alistair following him with a little less enthusiasm. The boat teetered and tottered as it magically moved away from the shore and to the open lake. It was nauseating. With Alistair and Toby in the same boat was a little, round faced girl in hand-me-down robes. She held the sides of the boat for her dear life.

"I heard there's a squid in the lake," she whispered.

Toby laughed at her and made the boat sway even more until the girl was almost weeping. Alistair instead concentrated on how the walls of Hogwarts were getting closer and closer and…

"Heads down, kids," the man said and the children ducked their heads to get through the hanging vines that had formed a thick veil in front of a tunnel. It led them into an underground harbour where they got off the boats, some more gracefully than others. One chubby boy with pale face and sandy blonde hair fell over and the man had to lift him up from the freezing water.

Alistair found it difficult to see in the dark when they followed the man up a rocky staircase to the castle yard. He glanced up to the double doors where a woman was already waiting them. Alistair gulped.

It was now or never.


	4. Chapter 4 The Sorting Ceremony

Chapter 4. The Sorting Ceremony

On the grand castle doors stood a woman waiting for the first year students. She was wearing elegant dark purple robe and her silvery blonde hair was tied into a partly on a braided bun. There were few strongly visible wrinkles on her forehead due to constant frowning which made her appear older than she probably was. Her nose was pointy and heavily lidded eyes were cold and captious, giving her somewhat arrogant yet tired look.

She glanced up at the old giant with slight disdain which made shivers ran down Ven's back.

"Hagrid," the woman greeted the giant in a high pitched voice. "You surely took your time."

"Professor Blishwick," the man replied with an uneasy smile. "I... Well, err... A student fell to the lake, and…""He looked down at his boots. "Could I do something ter help here?" he asked.

"I can handle this situation here," the woman said blankly. "You are awaited at the Great Hall. Headmistress wanted you to stay for the Sorting. She said those creatures of yours can handle themselves for a while."

Hagrid looked bemused. "Yer right, I'll just... Yea." He looked at Albus. "Get sorted well, will yah, Al?"

Albus nodded and waved at Hagrid when the giant man retreated from the doors to use another entrance. The students moved to the hall where the woman clapped her hands couple times to gain the attention of the whispering first years. They, including Ven who had been whispering with Scorpius, silenced immediately under the cold stare.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. I'm Professor Imelda Blishwick, Head of the House of Slytherin," the woman said. "And I'll be your Potions master till the end of your Hogwarts career."

Scorpius smiled a little. "She reminds me of my nana," he whispered to Ven and Albus. Albus grinned widely.

"Yeah," he agreed slyly. "If she too looks like something smells reeeally ba–"

Scorpius looked rather shocked and opened his mouth to disagree with Albus but Professor Blishwick had already heard enough of the conversation.

"Mr. Potter!" Professor Blishwick cried out and raised her glowed hands to her hips.

* * *

Alistair and Toby turned to look who had made the professor mad so quickly. The addressed boy grinned foolishly, whispering 'oops' to the blonde next to him. The professor didn't look happy at all.

"Your brother has been a true delight of my evenings–" Albus grinned at that. "–getting at least one detention every month", the Professor continued dryly, not amused at all. "I hope you'll behave better than him since I'd prefer not to spend as much time with you."

"Yes ma'am," the boy called Potter said with not so innocent smile.

The Professor huffed and started explaining to the children about the Houses and the many rules Hogwarts had: mostly about House points and House Cup. Toby frowned. Professor Blishwick seemed to be determined to praise Slytherin over the other houses.

"You'll soon enter the Great Hall where you'll get through the Sorting ceremony," Professor Blishwick explained. "I'll now go see if they're ready to welcome you, which I hope since we're late from the schedule." She turned to leave but stayed to add one more sentence. "And when I come back I expect you all to behave and look suitable."

The door opened and closed as the Professor left, leaving the students to the hall. The nervous children started quietly to speak to one another. Alistair just stood there silently, looking around and listening curiously the conversations about the sorting. Mostly he concentrated on the conversation between Toby and the chubby boy he heard being called Leonard. He had been the one who had fallen into the lake earlier.

A girl with bushy auburn hair passed them and made a quickly drying spell on Leonard's wet robes on her way to the side where a group of three was chatting. One of the three was the boy Professor Blishwick had called Potter and he was speaking louder than the others.

"My brother's in Gryffindor, which is a part of the reason why I kinda don't want to get into it. Maybe I'll get into Slytherin," he told. The girl crossed her arms.

"Dad said we'll be in Gryffindor," she said. "All Weasleys have been."

"Yeah, Rosie, I kinda know that," Potter drawled and rolled his eyes.

"Even Cousin Dominique," the girl continued. "And she should've been sorted into Ravenclaw. You'll be a Gryffindor", she ended her statement firmly. Potter just snorted at that.

"What about you, Scorpius?" he asked the blond boy next to him. "Ravenclaw? Slytherin?"

"I hope," the blond started warily. "I'll get into Slytherin."

The girl gasped as if the blond had just cursed.

"They get to use the Potions classroom between lessons," the blond told defensively. "Or at least that's what my father said. I wouldn't mind Ravenclaw, though. They have a wide range of books in their common room."

"Already thinking about studying?" Potter laughed, making the boy called Scorpius turn red before he started chuckling as well. The girl instead mumbled something Alistair couldn't hear.

He looked around the hallway and at other first year students, wondering which of them would end up in same the House with him. His gaze met shortly with a darker skinned boy with hazel eyes. He was one of the students standing close to Potter. He was carefully looking around the first year students as well but he looked like he was choosing someone to hex. Suddenly Alistair caught the boy staring at him.

Alistair swallowed and tore himself away from the eye contact when the boy's gaze darkened dangerously. He didn't want to make enemies.

Soon Professor Blishwick came back and demanded absolute silence. The doors opened and the children entered the Great Hall. They walked in a line behind the Professor, trying to keep up with her. Most of the students in all four tables looked at the children. Some of the older students even whispered with each other in approval.

The first year students stood in front of the professors' table, but between the professors and the first year students there was a stool.

And on that stool was an old, weary wizard's hat.

There was a moment of silence before, all sudden, the Hat started to sing. Alistair couldn't believe his eyes and ears. He had known about the Sorting Hat, of course, since it wasn't really a secret but he had never heard it would sing. When the song was over the students, and even some of the professors, applauded and cheered to it before calming down again.

Professor Blishwick smirked, or probably smiled but it was a rather poor attempt, and took the Hat and a scroll for students to see.

"We'll now sort you into the houses. When I call your name, you come here and let the Hat do its job," she announced, opening the scroll. "Luke Corner!"

A boy with cheeky smile and wavy blond hair walked where Professor Blishwick stood. The Hat was on the stool, completely lifeless. The boy sat down on a stool and Blishwick put the Hat on his head and the whole school waited.

After a moment of silence, the Hat let out loud cry: "RAVENCLAW!"

Luke Corner got a round of applause from the table on the far right where the students had colours blue and bronze on their ties.

Lucinda Cross was called next and a porcelain doll-like girl danced to the stool and tried the Hat on.

"SLYTHERIN!" the Hat cried out this time and it was Slytherin students' turn to cheer and applaud. Few even whistled when the girl sprinted gracefully to the table of green and silver which was located to the far left.

"Emmett Darcy!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Alistair started to hope his turn would never come when Miranda Glocksworth got sorted into Gryffindor. He was scared, more scared than ever, and the pressuring gazes of the other students didn't make him feel any better.

"Mary Hiffgins," Professor Blishwick called

The round faced girl who had shared the boat with Alistair and Toby stepped forward. The Hat soon declared that she belonged into Hufflepuff. The Holmes twins were the last ones before Toby. Alistair bit the inside of his cheek as the name 'Tobias Jones' was called and held back his breath.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat cried out.

Toby beamed and looked like he was ready to hug Professor Blishwick. He had got sorted into the house he had wanted. Alistair looked around the first year students around himself. There weren't many without sorting anymore but he didn't know any of them. He didn't want to end up alone now when he already had one friend at Hogwarts.

He was determined he had to get into Hufflepuff.

After Scorpius Malfoy, the blond boy Alistair had seen earlier, was sorted into Slytherin Alistair was literally shaking from his head to his toes.

"Alistair Nott!" Professor Blishwick called.

Alistair almost tripped on his own legs on his way to the stool. Professor Blishwick frowned at his clumsiness but didn't say anything. She placed the Hat on Alistair's head and it almost hid his eyes.

'How is this supposed to work...?' Alistair thought nervously.

'_Ah, very well. Mm, yes, witty yet intelligent. Charming.'_

Alistair was startled upon hearing a voice inside his head. 'Mr. Hat?' Alistair said.

His voice sounded unusually whiny as he was hesitated to address the Sorting Hat. He swallowed. He wasn't really sure could the Hat hear him. The Hat hummed something and ignored being addressed at all.

'_Yes, very interesting indeed. You could do well in Slytherin, or even in Gryffindor... Yes, Gryffindor would be fine as well but in Slytherin...'_

'Please, put me into Hufflepuff,' Alistair begged and held his breath. 'Please, please... I'll work hard, I'll be kind... Please...'

'_Hufflepuff, eh? People usually don't beg to get into Hufflepuff. Your skills could be well used in any other house as well. With that ambition and braveness...'_

Alistair squeezed his eyes shut. 'Hufflepuff, Hufflepuff, Hufflepuff...'

'_...but if you're sure and ask so nicely I'll put you into the House were your loyalties lay...'_

"...HUFFLEPUFF!"

* * *

Ven frowned when Alistair Nott made his way to the Hufflepuff table. He knew he had seen those eyes before. In his mind he returned to the afternoon when he had shortly met Mr. Nott in the Borgin and Burkes. Yes, those were definitely same eyes but without the coldness. Alistair's eyes were warm, un-Slytherin-like. No wonder he ended up in Hufflepuff.

A girl called Parker was called to the stool next but Ven didn't pay attention on her. Instead his gaze wandered to the Hufflepuff table where Nott was chatting with another first year student whose name Ven hadn't bothered to commit to his memory.

"Albus Potter!" Professor Blishwick called, wrinkling her nose at the name. Her high-pitched voice rang across the Hall and the silence fell. The atmosphere was full of waiting. Albus sat casually on the stool for almost five minutes before the Sorting Hat had made its decision and its cry echoed in the Hall.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Loud gasps emerged especially from the Gryffindor table. Some professors looked shocked as well but Albus just grinned widely and ran to Slytherin table where he gave a brotherly hug to unsuspecting Scorpius.

The Sorting continued. Sarida Rai was sorted to Gryffindor and Eliza Redmond became a Ravenclaw. Soon after them Professor Blishwick called Rose Weasley, the bushy haired girl who had talked with Albus earlier, to the stool.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat declared and a group of Gryffindors took her in with open arms. She was immediately followed by Leonard Yale, the clumsy kid who had fallen to the lake earlier.

Ven's turn was going to be next. He took a deep breath. He was ready to march to the stool as soon as Professor Blishwick would just call his name.

"Ventus Zabini!"

* * *

Alistair looked at Ventus Zabini, the boy with cold hazel eyes and hair so dark it could've been mistaken for black. He had been the last one standing. He looked so confident when he sat on the stool that Alistair felt even a pang of jealousy in his chest. He himself had been completely panic-stricken and out of place. It was just plain wrong someone could go there so naturally.

The Sorting Hat declared Zabini belonged in Slytherin in the very moment the Hat touched his head. He joined the table of green and silver and sat on the other side of Malfoy where he could see straight to other tables. Since Zabini had been the last one, the Sorting Ceremony was over and the Welcoming Feast was about to begin.

The Headmistress, an elder, narrow-faced witch with her plum coloured hair tied to a bun, stood up. Alistair had heard her name earlier: Ambrosine Blanchard had formerly taught Alchemy for at least for a decade and she had been nominated for the Head of the School only few years back.

"Welcome!" she said in a clear but slightly slow tone which was nothing like Professor Blishwick's high-pitched whining. Blanchard spoke with a voice full of wisdom and authority. "A new term is yet again starting here in Hogwarts," she said shortly. "We hope you'll enjoy the feast. Thank you."

The food magically appeared to the trays which had seconds ago been empty and the feast started. Students and professors along dug in the piles of chicken legs, ham, potatoes, and cooked peas, various salads and sauces.

The new first year Hufflepuffs were immediately taken in by the older ones and Alistair found himself smiling when he listened to Toby chatting with couple fourth year Hufflepuffs about Quidditch. The taller of them appeared to be Hufflepuff Chaser and Toby was immediately asking him about team's line-up for the upcoming year.

When the desserts had been served and the Feast was over, the rest of the food vanished as quickly as it has appeared. The Headmistress stood up again and the hall silenced to listen to her.

"I would have few words before you'll be allowed to retreat to your common rooms and dormitories," she said. "For the beginning, I would like to remind you all that the forest is forbidden from all students." The giant man, Hagrid, shook his head as warning when a boy from the Gryffindor table started to talk to his friends slyly. "Also our Caretaker Clayton wanted to remind that using magic on the corridors is not allowed, and that the western part of fifth floor corridor is under construction."

She made few more announcements and warnings before her voice started to build an edge of annoyance. "We have to remind you that girls' dormitories are off limits from the boys. Last year's fiasco is not going to happen again," she said at last. The snickering in the Gryffindor table increased which made the Headmistress frown even more than she was already doing.

When the students began to leave the Great Hall a Hufflepuff girl with a prefect badge on her chest started waving her hands to gain attention.

"Hufflepuff first years, follow me!" she called with a smile adorning her pretty face. Her hair looked a cloud made of wild brown curls. "I'm Wilona Willopun by the way," she added as the Hufflepuffs followed her away from the Hall. "And I'll answer questions if you have any."

Another Hufflepuff prefect, a boy with ink black hair and blue eyes, joined her. He was at least a head taller than the girl.

Wilona grinned. "And that's..."

"Oedipus Crane," the boy said in a low, monotone voice and took the lead. "Hufflepuff House resides in the basement. This way."

The group of first years followed their prefects, curiously looking around on the way and asking questions. Especially a short girl with brownish blonde hair and narrow grey-green eyes seemed to have lots of questions which Wilona and Oedipus willingly answered.

After a walk, which felt like a small eternity to Alistair whose stomach was full of caramel pudding, they stopped in front of gigantic barrels.

"Our common room entrance," Oedipus said, pointing at a barrel and took out his wand. "Helga Hufflepuff." He tapped a barrel in a rhythm of the said name and a hidden door opened. "Learn to tap the barrels correctly. Otherwise you'll smell like vinegar for the next weeks."

Wilona went through the barrel hole first, the younger year students following her.

"Welcome to the Hufflepuff common, little badgers," she said brightly.

The room was decorated with warm, earthly colours, pillows and rugs were all black, brown, and yellow, the comfy leather sofas made a half circle in front of the fireplace. Plants curled up and down on the walls and ceiling and the room looked inviting and cozy.

"Girls' dormitories are on the right," Wilona told with a smile as the first year Hufflepuff girls, all three of them, looked around the common room in awe. "Your trunks are already in there."

"And boys' dormitories are on the left," Oedipus said to the four young Hufflepuff boys. "This day has been a long one. Go and rest, we'll inform you further tomorrow."

With those words both boys and girls retreated to their dorms. Toby's eyes went wide when they stepped in the room which had a tag 'First Year' on it.

"Cool! Four-poster beds!" he cried out, overjoyed. There was a loud croak. "Snuffles!" Toby exclaimed, snatching the toad from his bed.

"My owl isn't here," Alistair said with a frown on his face when he noticed Iniga was nowhere to be seen.

"All owls were taken to the owlery," a chubby boy with short light brown hair said. "I heard it from Crane when we were on the way here. One of the girls asked it."

"Oh, right." Alistair nodded, distantly remembering Crane talking about pets.

"I'm JP," the boy said as an afterthought. "Jeremiah Greenden."

"Alistair Nott," Alistair replied.

"I'm Toby Jones!" Toby exclaimed loudly, wanting to introduce himself as well.

Three boys turned to the fourth boy in their dorm. The dark skinned boy raised his eyebrows before realizing what others wanted him to do.

"William Thomas, or Will, if you please," he finally said, already in his pajamas. He yawned. "Nice to meet you."

"Are you going to sleep now?" Toby asked, skeptically eyeing the other boy.

"Yes," William said. "I'm tired."

Alistair yawned as well, starting to look for nightwear from his trunk. The day had indeed been long and he too wanted to get into bed and get some sleep before their first actual school day.

"Not you too," Toby groaned when he noticed that Jeremiah was also pulling covers over his head. "Come on! It's our first night in Hogwarts! We can't sleep!" he desperately cried out, Snuffles croaking in unison.

William mumbled something about learning silencing spells. Alistair repressed a chuckle and closed his curtains, only to hear Toby groan one more time before he went to bed as well.

* * *

In the Slytherin dungeons the new first year snakes weren't sleeping.

"Ha ha, we've got the lake view," Albus said in delight, looking out from their common room window.

The fishes passing by ignored him, as did Ven and Scorpius. The fair-haired prefect who had walked them to the dungeons rolled his eyes.

"You'll get used to it," the prefect boy said. "The breakfast is served from seven to nine. You'll receive your schedules then," he added to the three boys. "Now off to bed."

"Jonathon Fort, you're no fun. You sound like a teacher," Albus sneered. "Where's your inner first year student?"

Fort frowned. "This is my O.W.L.s year," he said, sounding annoyed. "My first year self is in a coma."

Albus reluctantly followed Ven and Scorpius to their dorm. The last one of new Slytherin boys was there already, moving his clothes from his trunk to a wardrobe. He was a bit taller than Scorpius who was the tallest of the three. His very short black hair stuck up ridiculously from the front but it didn't seem to bother him.

"Um, hello?" Scorpius said hesitantly, Albus comically hiding behind his back. Ven stayed silent.

The boy showed a crooked grin. "Hi."

Scorpius looked immediately relieved when he wasn't addressed rudely. "I'm…"

"I already know your names," the boy said with a smirk. "Scorpius Malfoy. Pleasure to meet the new Slytherin prince."

Scorpius turned red and looked away. "I'm not a prince," he muttered.

The tall boy turned to look at Ven. "Ventus Zabini," he said. "I wasn't surprised about you being a Slytherin either," he told, still talking in a polite tone.

Ven grimaced. "It's Ven," he corrected. He disliked his given name greatly. The boy ignored him and stared instead at Albus.

"And Albus Potter," he hummed. "Well that was a shock. I never thought that you of all people would ever end up in the snake pit." He laughed. "But nice to meet you anyway. I'm Darius Flint."

When they went to their beds Darius was still delirious about having Albus sleeping in the same dorm with him. He, as well as any other warlock or witch in the Wizarding Britain, knew all about the great Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived who had defeated the Dark Lord. And now Potter's son was sorted into the same house with him.

"I still can't believe it," he mumbled, a permanent grin blasted on his face. "Albus Potter in Slytherin. What was the Hat thinking?"

Albus snorted. "Actually it wanted to put me into Gryffindor," he admitted. "But I chose otherwise." He was silent for a moment. "All these years I had been scared that I could be sorted into Slytherin but when the Hat said I could do well in Gryffindor… It just didn't feel right. I chose Slytherin."

Darius whistled. "You chose Slytherin?" he repeated slowly. "Somebody pinch me, this is a bloody weird dream!"

Ven turned around in his bed behind his closed curtains. He heard perfectly how Albus hit Darius with a pillow and how Scorpius who had already fallen asleep breathed in and out peacefully in a bed next to him. These three were going to become like a family to him for the next seven years and he liked the thought but he could feel something was wrong. And he knew exactly what it was.

Alistair Nott was a Hufflepuff.


	5. Chapter 5 Slytherins and Hufflepuffs

Chapter 5. Slytherins and Hufflepuffs

Morning had gone perfectly well. The brand new Hufflepuff ties had been waiting for the first year students on the common room table and Prefect Wilona had escorted the students to the Great Hall.

At the breakfast the young Hufflepuffs started to have a conversation which Alistair hadn't preferred to have yet: families. Many of them were from quite notable wizarding families, and so was Alistair but not in an exactly same way as they were. Toby seemed to love talking especially about his Great Aunt Gwenog who had been a Quidditch player in Holyhead Harpies.

The small girl with shoulder length blondish brown hair and narrow grey-green eyes who had asked the most of the questions during their way to the common room during the previous night smiled proudly and babbled about her family as happily as Toby but for entirely different reasons.

"My dad was one of the smartest Hufflepuffs during the 90s," she told proudly. "He got seven Outstandings in his OWLs." She smiled widely. "I'm proud to be a Macmillan."

Chastity Holmes, the girl next to her who had piercing grey eyes and wavy dark hair that reached hips munched her cauldron cake. "But Layla," she started. "That doesn't mean so much."

"Yes it does!" Layla Macmillan argued and slammed a thick book on the table. "He got a job from the Ministry after graduating! And so did my mother for that matter!" She huffed. "What's so great about your parents then?"

Chastity shrugged. "I never said there's something especially 'great' about my parents," she said nonchalantly. "Dad's a journalist at the Daily Prophet." She gave a smile. "I'm not even a pureblood. Actually quite half and half," she told. "Dad's a wizard and mum's a squib. She teaches in a muggle school."

Toby raised his eyebrows. "Cool," he mumbled his mouth full of bacon. "What does she teach?"

"Mathematics," Chastity replied. Toby gave her confused frown. "Arithmancy," she corrected and snickered at Toby's expression.

"Yuck," Toby groaned. "But what about yours, Alistair? Your parents?" he asked.

Alistair sipped his pumpkin juice before answering. "My mother works at the Ministry, too," he told, gaining a wide grin from Layla. "My father doesn't actually work. But he reads a lot."

"Why he doesn't work?" William asked, taking part in the conversation for the first time. Jeremiah who sat next to him looked curious as well. Alistair held back a sudden wave of nervousness he was feeling.

"He... He doesn't like being around people. Not for the most of the time anyway," he replied. It was the truth. Theodore disliked crowds and preferred staying home. He had been the one of his parents who had stayed home after Alistair had been born because Ana had her job in the Ministry.

Layla held her chin, looking rather thoughtful as she observed Alistair and leafed through the pages.

"Your last name? What was it again?" she asked. "Nott, right?"

A group of Slytherins was bypassing them right then and Alistair could only curse at Layla's bad timing. He recognized Potter and Malfoy, followed by few other Slytherins from their year. What caught his eye was Ven Zabini's blank gaze. The dark skinned spoke suddenly, making the group of Slytherins halt.

"His father was not a Death Eater," he said and Layla flinched visibly. "That's what you were planning to ask anyway. From a Death Eater family, yes, but his grandfather was the last one. Actually the only one, to be exact."

Alistair felt almost grateful for the young Slytherin's words but the warm feeling deceased as soon as Zabini opened his mouth again.

"A Hufflepuff wimp like him wouldn't even been considered as a Death Eater."

* * *

Ven partly regretted what he had just said. The dark haired boy who was sitting next to Nott stood up and glared at Ven angrily.

"Take that back!" the boy exclaimed. He was furious. "He's not a wimp! Not any of us Hufflepuffs are!"

"Is that the loyalty you Hufflepuff wimps are known of?" Ven stated and two girls stood up as well.

The one Ven had heard talking earlier was now mumbling in anger. Scorpius placed his hand on Ven's shoulder, wordlessly stopping him from saying anything else. Instead Ven just settled for smirking to the Hufflepuffs as the group of Slytherins walked away.

"What were you thinking?" Scorpius hissed when they were out of the Hufflepuffs' hearing range. He had made clear he disliked mentioning Death Eaters and now he looked like Ven had crossed an invisible line. He received no answer. "Don't provoke them," Scorpius added when Ven turned to glance at Alistair.

Albus nodded as they sat down to their table. "Yeah, we already have a reputation," he said with a smirk. "Slytherins are known for pestering Gryffindors, leave the Puffs alone."

"Albus!" Scorpius scoffed. "But really, Ven," he said and frowned lightly. "Just don't."

Ven gave a sigh and nodded but just to please Scorpius. He wasn't promising anything.

* * *

Alistair had held his breath for the most of the charade and was still a little out of breath when he saw the Slytherins sitting down on the other side of the Hall. Neither had he any longer appetite for the delicious breakfast. He was baffled, and most of his fellow Hufflepuffs were staring at him. Mary Hiffgins, the small girl with round faced gave a cough.

"My parents are both muggles," she told quietly, drawing the attention to herself. "They're shoemakers. I'm only magical in my family." She looked a little embarrassed to speak about her parents. "We can't decide what kind of family we're born," she said. "It only matters who we are."

She smiled at Alistair and he immediately felt better. He smiled back at the girl. He definitely liked Mary's personality. Layla instead looked ashamed.

"I'm sorry," she said and beckoned the book. "I've just read and heard so much about the War and I was sure I had heard your name. I didn't know about your... You know. I thought your family was fighting on our side."

"My mother was but she was sent home before the final fight," Alistair said quietly. "My father didn't take part."

"Well the War is over anyway," Toby said. He was feeling annoyed of the negative change in the atmosphere. He gave a grin. "All we have to worry here is..."

"Being late from my Defense class," said a slightly curt voice.

The Hufflepuff first years looked up at the man who shook his head disapprovingly. Professor Prosper was a tall and lanky man, almost 50 years of age. He was going to teach them the Defense Against the Dark Arts. He had dark brown curls, too long since they almost hid his cold eyes, and messy stubble on his chin and cheeks. In addition to that the scent of Firewhisky wafted strongly around him.

"Hurry up now," he said. "No points taken since it's your first actual day here. Next time I may not be as gracious."

Hufflepuffs shared only few classes with other houses and those classes were Potions (with Ravenclaws), Herbology (with Gryffindors), and Transfiguration (with Slytherins). They didn't share their DADA class which was a relief for Alistair since he didn't want to socialize with other Houses, especially not with Slytherins, not after what had happened at the breakfast.

'I can't believe the Hat wanted to put me into Slytherin,' Alistair groaned when Layla and William gained points for the Hufflepuff House with their knowledge. Professor Prosper was being a very snarky towards his new students and asked especially difficult questions from them, finding out which families had started teaching defense to their kids at early age. Prosper seemed delighted of their knowledge but when he asked a question from Alistair and the boy didn't know the answer his brow furrowed.

"Seems like that all descendants aren't gifted in dark arts or defending oneself against them," he said. Alistair wanted the floor to swallow himself.

After Professor Prosper had dismissed them, Layla was fuming.

"I can't believe a teacher could be such a jerk!" she exclaimed.

Alistair wasn't sure was Layla mad because Professor Prosper had pointed out Alistair's Death Eater heritage or because the professor had taken points when he hadn't known an answer to the simple question. She wailed also about not knowing the answer to a question about banshees when she walked with Toby, Alistair, and Chastity to the fourth floor where their History of Magic class was

"He's a professor, what did you expect?" Chastity asked, making a face.

"He was rude!" Layla growled.

"Yes, he was", Alistair said quietly.

* * *

Ven gave a pleased smirk when Filius Flitwick, the old and tiny Charms professor with whiny voice, walked towards the table where he was sitting with Scorpius. The Malfoy heir had just proved himself to be quite competent in wand-lightning charm, succeeding on his first and only try.

"Marvelous, Mr Malfoy!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed and clapped his hands. "Ten points to Slytherin!"

Albus who was sitting behind them with Darius snorted. "Show-off," he mumbled but it was clear he was grinning. They had spent the most of the class by learning magical theory of charms but when Professor Flitwick had asked someone to volunteer to try a simple _Lumos_ Scorpius had raised his hand immediately.

"'Ten points to Slytherin'!" Albus mimicked Professor Flitwick's voice in the corridor when the class was over for the Slytherin first years. "Great job, Scorp. Gaining points for us since the very first day," he hummed. "I'll do my best to lose all the points they give to you. Then we're even."

"Please don't," Scorpius sighed, clutching his school back even though he knew Albus was joking. He had gained another ten points for pronouncing correctly few advanced spells. Though Scorpius hadn't even tried using them, Albus was sure he would have succeeded.

Darius snickered. "We have Defense next," he said. "They say Professor Prosper knows a great deal about some nasty curses. Do you think he'll show us Unforgivable Curses?"

None of them paid attention on the Hufflepuffs who walked pass them.

* * *

The week continued slowly and Toby was already fed up with their schedule because there wasn't his favourite class, flying, before next Wednesday.

"What do we have next?" Toby asked and Layla, who knew their schedule by heart, grinned happily.

"Herbology," she said. "I've waited for this since the school started!"

Alistair raised his brows and Toby shrugged. Layla was known to wait for the first lessons of every subject but she hadn't been this excited since Professor Flitwick had praised the way she had swished her wand. She wasn't even bothered by the fact they were going to share their class with Gryffindors.

Professor Longbottom took the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors in the Greenhouse 1 with a warm smile. His clothes were worn and dirty from mould and fallen leaves but it seemed not to worry him, and by far he was the youngest teacher Alistair had confronted at Hogwarts. He was sure the professor wasn't even forty yet. Layla was almost jumping up and down. Professor greeted her with a nod before making sure that all first year students from two houses had made it in his class.

"I know you're here, Layla," he said. "You can lower your hand. And thank your father in your next letter."

"My dad's close friends with the Professor," Layla whispered to Chastity when Professor Longbottom called the names of two Gryffindor boys.

"Alistair Nott?" Professor called and Alistair hesitantly raised his hand. Most professors looked at him oddly – his father was a Slytherin and grandfather was a Death Eater. Professor Longbottom just smiled encouragingly when he noticed how nervous Alistair was.

"Your father helped me with potions a lot during fifth year," he said, making Alistair's eyes widen. "Nothing to be ashamed."

"But you were in Gryffindor, right?" Rose Weasley, the auburn haired Gryffindor, interrupted curiously. "With my parents."

"Yes, I was," the Professor said with a smile warm enough to melt even Professor Blishwick's heart. "But our Potions master paired me up with Mr. Nott once since I needed more help than the others." he continued. "Mr. Nott was one of the best students in our Potions class."

Alistair smiled and turned bright red. That was the first time anyone in the school had spoken about his parents kindly. He immediately liked Professor Longbottom more than the other professors and was determined to mention the man in his next letter to home. The Professor spoke fondly about Rose and William's parents as well since they had been in Gryffindor in a same year with him.

It soon became clear that no matter who one's parents were Professor Longbottom didn't favour anyone, or on the contrary he didn't discriminate any of his students which made him one of the best professors in the school in many students' opinion.

* * *

It was the fourth night of the term and weekend was approaching. Ven bit the quill. He tried to concentrate on the letter he was supposed to write to his father. Albus instead was determined to finally catch a glimpse of the Giant Squid. He was sitting in front of the room's biggest window an intent look in his eyes. Scorpius was reading the book he had started few days earlier in the train and Darius had sneaked out the common room with few older Slytherins.

No one of them was bothering Ven at the moment. It was their Transfiguration class what made it difficult for him to concentrate. Not old Professor Norwood's attitude against the Slytherin and his annoying way to praise the Gryffindors. After all, he was the Head of Gryffindor house. He wasn't the reason.

Slytherins had transfiguration with _Hufflepuffs_. That meant Ven couldn't concentrate only on studying. No. He had to keep his eye on Alistair Nott. That Hufflepuff was the main point he was writing to his father. Ven was supposed to watch over the possible will-be Death Eaters. His father, Blaise, had asked him to do so. Malfoy, Rosier, and Goyle were easy – Scorpius was his friend so he had his eye on Malfoy all the time, Acacia Rosier was in the same year with him and neither her or third year student Sophia Goyle had raised his doubts.

But Nott was the problem.

Ven dropped a drop of ink on the parchment. Did he really have to deal with a Hufflepuff prat? Nott seemed a way more harmless than the mischief making Potter he was dealing with daily. His father was going to have a lot explaining to do.

* * *

Alistair was sitting on one of the sofas in their common room after a rather long day. He hated to criticize the professors and their teaching but Professor Binns' lessons were the dullest ones he had ever attended either in Hogwarts or in the muggle world. What made Alistair even more frustrated was Professor Prosper's class where they went through The Second Wizarding War over and over again.

It was nearing the curfew but Toby and Layla, who had become Alistair's best friends during the first days, were watching Hufflepuff Quidditch team's practices. Alistair had chosen to stay behind because he wasn't that eager about the game. He wasn't alone in the common room, though.

Chastity, the grey-eyed girl with long dark hair and a maniac laugh, was sitting on an arm chair on the other side of the room. She watched as William, the dark skinned boy with Indian ancestry from his mother's side, drew something in one of his many sketchbooks. Chastity hummed some muggle song Alistair couldn't recognize. He didn't even try though. He was too interested in the letter he was writing to his mother.

When it was almost ready Toby was already back and he was babbling about Quidditch to Chastity and William. Though William didn't seem to be interested at all.

"I prefer football," he said firmly and closed the sketchbook. Toby gasped with a shocked expression on his face. Alistair chuckled slightly, adding one last sentence to his letter.

_I miss you mother._


	6. Chapter 6 Girls of All Kinds

Chapter 6. Girls of All Kinds

Ven loved the Astronomy lessons and Professor Sinistra was definitely his favourite teacher in all Hogwarts. She was intelligent and strict and her essay topics were interesting.

It were the mornings after the Astronomy lessons which caused pain, especially to Scorpius and Ven. Albus whined and wailed about not getting enough sleep at the breakfast, slept through the History of Magic class, and was his overly cheery self during the lunch again. Darius was the only one who found the whole routine amusing.

"Malfoy, borrow me your notes," Darius pleaded at the lunch after falling asleep during Professor Binns' lesson as well. "We got an essay to write. Help your mate in distress."

Scorpius snorted. "No way," he said sternly with a grimace. "Stop sneaking out the dorm at night and maybe you don't need to sleep in the class. I don't borrow my notes."

"But you borrow them to Potter!" Darius exclaimed and beckoned Albus who was snickering at the charade.

"He stoles them from my bag," Scorpius explained patiently. "There's a difference."

Darius groaned and let his bed hit the table. Albus grinned at him from the other side of the table and poked his shoulder.

"I'm going to eat your share of bacon," he cooed and took Darius' plate, making the other boy raise his head and glare Albus murderously. "Just kidding," Albus said quickly and gave the plate back. "And you can borrow my notes since I've copied them from Scorp," he added.

Ven rolled his eyes and continued correcting his Charms homework. Darius instead began thanking Albus over and over again until the lunch was over and they were in Professor Prosper's class where they were separated to the different sides of the class.

* * *

Alistair was grinning from ear to ear when the owls arrived one morning at the breakfast and he could see Iniga among them. He finally received a letter from his mother. Alistair petted Iniga's ruffled feathers and offered her a piece of toast before she flew away with the other owls. Alistair giggled when he read what Ana had written about his father's reaction to Professor Longbottom's words. Apparently Theodore had sulked the rest of the day in his study room and mumbled something about a ruined cauldron and the worst Potions grade ever.

Alistair wasn't even bothered by Professor Blishwick's whiny and high-pitched speech about the bezoar's importance in curing the most common poisons during their class after lunch. Instead he was thinking about the next Herbology lesson. Professor Longbottom had promised they would study about the Devil's Snare. That would be far more interesting.

Mary nudged Alistair's side hastily just before Professor Blishwick noticed Alistair hadn't been listening to her teaching.

"Mr. Nott, are you paying attention?" she asked sharply. Few Ravenclaws snickered.

"I am, Professor," Alistair said quickly. "…what was the question?" he asked, smiling unsurely.

Professor Blishwick looked like she was going to explode. Her face turned all red and she breathed sharply through her nose, making her strongly resemble a fire breathing dragon.

"We were discussing the effects of adding powdered bezoar into a common Calming Draught alongside chrysanthemum and aconite", she said snidely. "Could you, please, explain how would that effect the draught?"

Alistair bit his lip. Powdered bezoar counters the poisonous effects making but chrysanthemum and aconite... He had either read or heard about chrysanthemum and aconite but it had definitely not been in the Potions textbook. Think, Alistair, think…

"It would make it a powerful but not lethal poison," Alistair replied suddenly. "Because the bezoar is added alongside with chrysanthemum and aconite. Aconite is known to be an ingredient in many poisons and chrysanthemum is added to increase the toxicity. The powdered bezoar decreases the toxicity back to the level of asphyxia." He smiled. "That makes the common Calming Draught an Apparent Death potion."

Professor Blishwick looked very sour. "Yes," she said slowly. "10 points to Hufflepuff. And," she added. "Mr. Nott, pay more attention during my classes."

"Yes, Professor," Alistair said with a small smile.

Toby and Layla who worked together in Potions and sat in front of Alistair and Mary were both very curious how Alistair had known the answer for Professor Blishwick's question. Toby especially.

"How did you know the answer?" he asked, still a little dumbfounded but smiling widely nevertheless.

"Herbology," Alistair replied. "Chrysanthemum and aconite were both mentioned when we were talking about poisonous plants."

"That must be the only class you actually pay attention," Toby said with a grimace. He instead disliked Herbology and hated having mould under his fingernails. Not to mention he seemed to be quite allergic to pollen. Chastity, who had joined them in the corridor, snickered.

"But did you see the looks on Ravenclaws' faces?" she laughed. "Hilarious!"

* * *

Slytherins and Gryffindors were known to hate one another. It had been like that for hundreds of years. But of course there had to be few exceptions.

"I got 92 percent right," Scorpius said, showing his Charms test to the familiar Gryffindor girl.

Ven snorted. The girl was Albus' cousin, and for some reason she came to spend time with the Slytherins once in a while. First it had been Albus who had asked her to hang out with the snakes but later she had come to talk with them even when Albus was nowhere near.

"I beat you again," Rose said proudly and smiled. "98 percent."

"I need to try harder next time," Scorpius replied easily. "Then we'll see."

"I'm looking forward to it," Rose said and strutted back to where her fellow Gryffindor girls were waiting for her.

The rest of the Gryffindor first year girls never came close to Slytherins even though Ven could clearly see and hear them whispering about them. The Indian girl, Rai or something, blushed furiously every time she saw Ven even glancing that way.

"Did the Weaslette beat you again, Scorpius?" Acacia Rosier said with grimace on her face when she arrived at the spot after the Gryffindors had left. "You're embarrassing us," she sneered.

Scorpius glanced at the raven spitefully but kept himself in check and scrolled the exam, putting it back to his bag. Scorpius disliked the Slytherin girl as much as Ven did. Lucinda Cross, the other Slytherin girl who tagged along with Rosier, wrinkled her nose and silently judged Scorpius and Ven for hanging around with girls like Rose Weasley.

"I expected more from you," Rosier said and strutted away, Cross following her.

Girls were on Ven's top five of the most annoying things at Hogwarts.

All they did was thinking that they were better than boys and acting like the school belonged to them. Though Rose Weasley was tolerable, and the Slytherin prefect Larissa Lament manageable, and Professors Sinistra and Blishwick both were exceptional teachers to be women there was no such thing Ven would have loathed more.

Ven hated girls.

* * *

In the evening of Thursday, Toby was overexcited.

"We're going to fly today!" he laughed, running around the common room and jumping on the sofas. Layla couldn't hold back her smile. She loved flying almost as much as Toby but she didn't let it show as easily. They were both huge Quidditch fans and supported even same team, Falmouth Falcons. Of course Toby loved Holyhead Harpies, too, and had a poster of their chaser Morag McDougal stamped next to his bed but it would have been embarrassing for him to support an all-girls team in public.

Even all the homework Professor Flitwick had given to them hadn't been enough to wash the grin off Toby's face when they had waited with the Ravenclaw first years for their flying teacher.

Alistair was nervous. He had never flown before because he lived in the muggle world where flying with brooms in public wasn't allowed. But for his luck Mary and Jeremiah hadn't ever flown either. William instead said he had tried it few times but disliked it and preferred keeping his feet on the ground. Chastity's lips had formed a thin line. She was usually talking all the time but now she was being unusually quiet.

Luke Corner, the blonde Ravenclaw, chatted with two other boys in his class.

"I bet someone will drop from the broom," he remarked snidely and Alistair felt immediately relieved when he noticed they weren't talking about him.

A little further away from other Ravenclaws was a blankly staring boy with dark wavy hair. He was almost sickly pale and he looked like he didn't get enough sleep. But there was something in his pointy nose and grey eyes reminded Alistair of someone he knew. If he smiled he would look just like… Oh.

Chastity was now breathing in long breaths to contain her anger. Luke's grin widened when the boy didn't pay any attention on his remarks.

"What's wrong, squib boy?" Luke asked. "Scared that they'll send you back home to your squib mother when you can't fly a broom?"

That was when Chastity snapped. He marched straight to Luke, her usually warm eyes being cold as ice. She drew her wand and pointed Luke's chin with it.

"Care to repeat that?" she snarled, tilting her head dangerously.

"Repeat what?" Luke asked haughtily. "That his mother is a squ...?"

Before Luke couldn't react to Chastity's shriek he was on the ground, holding his face where several horrible boils had appeared. Chastity huffed. She put her want back to her pocket, crossed her arms, and glared down at Luke.

"That's true, you inconsiderable arsebread" she said. "Our mother is a squib – and she's one hell of a woman – but you are not allowed to use it as an insult on my brother."

Luke's eyes widened as if he had just realized he had gotten hexed by the sister of the boy he had just been bullying a moment ago. That was when Madam Hooch, an elderly witch who was supposed to teach them how to fly, appeared and inquired what had just happened.

"She hexed me!" Luke cried out defensively, trying to hide his face from the teacher and other students. Hooch glanced at Chastity and shook her head disapprovingly.

"He deserved it," Chastity said and raised her head proudly. "You can take points from me, or even give me detention. I'm fine with it."

Alistair had to admit Chastity was brave. Why wasn't she in Gryffindor?

"Miss Holmes," Madam Hooch said strictly. "20 points from Hufflepuff." Chastity glanced at Luke but the boy wasn't in the mood to even smirk at her. "I'll now take Mr Corner to the hospital wing," Hooch added. The rest of Ravenclaws were silent when Luke was escorted back to castle, not being allowed to follow.

Chastity walked to her brother and sighed. "You can't let people bully you, Claude," she whispered. The boy nodded warily. Chastity gave him a smile before glaring at the two other Ravenclaw boys. "If I ever see or hear anyone insulting Claude I'll hex without a warning, you hear me! And I mean it!"

Luke Corner didn't come back with Madam Hooch and the class finally started. Alistair was pretty proud of himself when he got his broom up on his third try. Toby and Layla both knew how to sit correctly but Emmett Darcy from Ravenclaw was the first one actually in the air. Claude, who had been too afraid to talk, had summoned his broom up wordlessly and Madam Hooch had given 50 points to Ravenclaw just for that. When the class was over Toby was already waiting for their next one when they would be allowed to actually fly and not just hover three feet from the ground.

"Does your brother talk at all?" Mary asked from Chastity as they walked back to the castle.

Chastity scoffed at her. "Of course he does!" she replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "When we're alone it's hard to make him shut up. He's just shy."


	7. Chapter 7 Christmas Holidays

Chapter 7. Christmas Holidays

Three months had passed since the start of the term. The Halloween Feast and Hufflepuff's victory over Ravenclaw in their first match of the year had kept the spirits high in the Hufflepuff common room for days. Alistair enjoyed his time with his new friends. He had been having the best time of his life and he had gotten very close with his fellow Hufflepuffs, noticing how they were acting like a very odd family. Toby was like a father, he had strong leader abilities and a great sense of humour where Layla instead was a like strict mother with her intelligence and sharp comments. William with his artistic abilities and quiet demeanour was like a kind younger brother and Chastity was like a careless older sister with her laidback attitude. Jeremiah with his observance about his surroundings and Mary with her calm and thoughtful nature were like uncle and aunt to him. He smiled often at the mental image even though he didn't dare to tell about it to any of his friends.

But in the addition to all the good things there were always the Transfiguration lessons, the only class Hufflepuffs shared with Slytherins. And now Alistair could clearly see why the snakes were so disliked by the other Houses. During those lessons Albus Potter, who seemed to hate every professor who compared him to his older brother James, used his time to pester everyone around himself. Luckily that considered mostly only his best friend Scorpius Malfoy which instead made Potter actually quite tolerable for the rest of the students in the class.

Alistair had always thought it would be hard to Scorpius Malfoy because he was well known because of his father who had been an actual Death Eater whereas Alistair's father was only related to one. But no one ever seemed to even try to pick on Scorpius when he was with Albus since the younger Potter brother was known for his temper and some nasty jinxes first year students usually didn't know. However, even with his family's reputation as vain and arrogant pure-blood elitists nobody ever saw Malfoy doing or saying anything bad. Of the young Slytherins he was by far the easiest to deal with.

The first year Slytherin girls instead were just plain mean. The doll-like blonde with corkscrew curls who smirked like a maniac when no professor could see and smiled innocently when they did. She had showed to be an excellent user of Tripping Jinx which she more than regularly used on less popular girls. The shorter, raven haired girl who often accompanied the blonde preferred verbally abusing others. Mary had even started crying when she had commented her old robes.

Still, Ven Zabini was the worst in Alistair's opinion. By calling him a wimp during the very first week of Hogwarts Zabini had ensured their some sort of mutual hatred towards each other. Zabini seemed to point out every mistake Alistair made and glare at him threateningly. It all made Alistair feel very uneasy.

Toby advised Alistair to ignore Zabini. "You're better than him anyway," he said. Alistair sighed. That was only partly true since Zabini's grade in their last essay in Transfiguration had been better than his. It had been the class' best actually. And it had made the Slytherin smug. More smug than he usually was.

* * *

Studying hadn't really turned out to be easier after Ven had received a letter from his father. Blaise had still been determined about his son keeping eye on the possible will-be Death Eaters. According to what he wrote there still was some underground Death Eater activity and he was part of the squad examining their trails. That meant the Transfiguration lessons continued to be a pain.

Albus' words supported Blaise's theory. "My dad says there's been few marks about them," he had said with a shrug. "But as I said, only few. They probably don't have any real leader so they won't do anything special. And they'll get caught soon anyway if Aurors are already tracking them down."

And Ven had agreed with that. Instead his opinion about his father's attempt to find Death Eaters from among the students of Hogwarts was ridiculous. And even if Malfoy, Rosier, or even Nott will later become Death Eaters they probably won't even consider that opinion at the age of eleven, Ven thought bitterly and glanced at the table where few Hufflepuffs were trying to turn mice into snuffboxes. Nott was one of them.

Ven snorted and went to take a closer look when it seemed like the Hufflepuff had actually succeeded. He gave a smirk when he saw the box.

"It still has whiskers," Ven said, gaining glares from the Hufflepuffs. Nott flushed bright red and looked away. Jones, who seemed to be attached to Nott from the hip, stood up.

"As if you could do any better!" he snarled.

"I could," Ven said and gave an amused smirk. "And I can." He waved his wand and said the incantation to transfigure the mouse that had been previously, and poorly, transfigured by Nott. The whiskers were long gone and the shiny, silver snuffbox had appeared to the table. "See?" Ven said, satisfied.

Jones snarled at him and held out his wand. Apparently Ven had taken one step too far.

"What's going on here?" Professor Norwood asked, noticing the tension between his students.

"I just showed the Hufflepuffs here how to transfigure correctly," Ven said, raising his eyebrow. "Is that forbidden, Professor?"

Professor Norwood's eyes flickered to the snuffbox at the table and then back to his students.

"No, no it's not. Well done, Mr. Zabini," Professor Norwood said and nodded in delight. "Yes, 10 points to Slytherin. Mr. Jones, sit down please."

Ven smirked when Jones reluctantly withdrew his wand and sat down.

* * *

In the beginning of December the Great Lake at Hogwarts grounds had frozen over and many students were planning to go back to their homes for Christmas holidays. Ana and Theodore were both expecting Alistair to come home but when Alistair had heard Mary was being only of the first year Hufflepuffs to stay at Hogwarts, he had immediately considered staying at school.

Mary's parents were muggles, you see, and they were going to spend the Christmas with their non-magical relatives and they had asked Mary to stay at school. Mary had smiled at Alistair when he had asked should he stay at Hogwarts with her.

"No, I'll be fine. I already asked Wilona to help me with Astronomy during the holiday since I'm not very good at it," she had said with a smile. "And it's only couple weeks. Don't worry."

And so the Christmas holidays came and before Alistair had even realized it he was on his way back home with Toby and Layla. His parents were waiting for him at the King's Cross Station. Layla and Toby's parents were there as well and so the three children left to their own ways. Before taking a taxi Alistair saw Chastity with her twin brother Claude from the corner of his eye. They were hugging a widely smiling woman. Their mother, Alistair guessed. His thoughts wandered back to Hogwarts where Mary would spend her holiday alone. He made a mental note to himself to send at least a letter to her later.

* * *

"And tell me, Tabby, when exactly did my parents leave and where?" Ven asked from the house elf that had collected him from the station when they arrived to the seemingly empty manor. The house elf – a small creature from her head to her toes covered in liver spots and wearing only a lavender pillowcase with pink flowers on – hid her big, wet, mud-coloured eyes when she was addressed. She drooped her head instead of looking at Ven in the eye and avoided the question.

"Yesterday night… Master Zabini told Tabby he has to go to work. He said young Master is old enough to handle being in charge of the manor for few days," Tabby explained carefully and finally looked up. "Is young Master mad at Tabby?"

Ven huffed and sat on his usual spot on the grand sofa in the Zabini manor living room. "I'm not mad at you, Tabby," he sighed, rubbing his temples. "What about my mother?"

"Mistress hasn't been around for the past two months," the elf said and looked very sad and guilty. "Mistress went back to Italy. That's all what Tabby knows."

"So, they're finally divorcing." He had been expecting it for the past few years. It had been only a matter of time before his mother would have moved away.

"Young Master can't be so sure about it," Tabby said sadly. "Mistress may still come back."

Ven gave a small smile to the elf even though they both knew Maria Amell was never coming back. She was never again going to sit in the library with her nose stuck on a book for the whole day and complain how horrible the Earl Grey tea tasted. She was never again going to sing outside at the field when the weather reminded her of Italian spring. She would never again even try acting all motherly. And it hurt more than Ven dared to admit out loud.

"Tabby," Ven started. His voice was barely louder than a whisper.

"Yes, young Master?" the house elf asked. "Tabby will do anything Master wants."

"Would you read something to me?"

* * *

Theodore's expression soured immediately when Alistair mentioned Professor Longbottom. It was early in the morning before Christmas Eve and the Nott had gathered in the kitchen.

"He said you were the master of silent treatment," Alistair said, drinking cocoa Ana had made for him. In his opinion it was funny to hear what kind of boy his father had been since Theodore didn't like talking about himself. Nor had Theodore stayed in contact with his old class mates so Alistair hadn't even had them to ask. Ana instead had met Theodore when he had been on his eight year. She instead had been on her third year, and they kept being contact in school mostly by letters because Theodore didn't want Ana to get too involved in Slytherins.

"I wasn't," Theodore said slowly and lowered the newspaper. "I just wasn't very interested in mentoring the class's worst student."

Alistair would have stood up for his favourite teacher but he knew his father's words to be true. Professor Longbottom had said it himself. Ana tried her best to lighten the mood.

"So, what's your favourite class in Hogwarts, dear?" she asked Alistair and smiled brightly.

"Herbology," Alistair replied immediately and his father looked like he had eaten a bunch of lemons. "But I like potions, too," he added quickly. "I just don't like Professor Blishwick. She hates _everyone_."

After the breakfast Theodore had spent most of the day in his study while Alistair helped his mother with Christmas decorations and cooking. Alistair had sent presents and letters for all of his classmates and gotten even few back. He had been especially happy when Layla had sent him a book _Guide to Healer's Herbology _–_ Poisonous herbs and antidotes_, and he had made sure to not read it when his father was in the same room.

* * *

Blaise didn't return home for the Christmas Day. He had explained in a letter that they had gotten an anonymous tip from Scotland that a small group of Neo Death Eaters was hiding in Aberdeen. Ven understood the reason but spending Christmas alone hadn't even crossed his mind when he had left Hogwarts. Tabby, of course, did her best by keeping company and making delicious Christmas dinner, only this time it was served only for one.

"Does young Master want Tabby to fetch something from his room?" the house elf intrigued softly.

Ven shook his head. "No." He barely left the living room and Tabby was okay with it.

"Tabby will go wash dishes," the elf said. "Young Master will call Tabby if he needs something?"

Ven nodded and the house elf apparated with a loud crack. Ven sighed and pulled the blanket over his legs and took a book he had borrowed from Scorpius from the pile on the side table.

There were only eight days left until the holiday would be over.

* * *

The rest of the holiday went quietly in Bexley as Alistair concentrated on his homework and got ready to return back to Hogwarts. He had planned to meet Toby at the station and Ana had been very keen to meet her son's friend.

"Hello, 'Listair!" Toby exclaimed and waved his hands frantically until Alistair and his mother had reached him at the Platform 9 3/4. "Hello, Mrs. N," he added.

"Hello, Tobias," Ana answered politely. "How was your holiday?"

"Noisy," Toby said with a shrug. "We had an all-family Christmas at my Aunt Gwenog's place. And I got a broom from her, too! I was planning to bring it over but then my ma reminded that first year students can't bring their owns so I decided I'll wait till my second year when I can try to get into our House's team!"

Ana Nott looked at the babbling boy, positively amused. "That's nice," she said with a nod.

Alistair smiled. "You can go, mother," he said. "I'll be fine with Toby. I'll write to you when I get back to Hogwarts."

"I know, I know," Ana hummed, waving her hand nonchalantly.

"Oh, before I forgot, Mrs. N!" Toby started eagerly. "My birthday is in July so could Alistair come to our place in Holyhead for a week or so during the summer? My ma said I better ask soon."

"Why not?" Ana said with a confused half-smile and Toby grinned from ear to ear.

The train pipe whistled, signaling to the students the train was leaving soon.

"Thanks, Mrs. N!" Toby exclaimed, climbing in the train.

"Bye, mother!" Alistair continued, pulling his trunk behind himself as he followed Toby. "See you in summer!"

Ana waved at him. "Love you, dear!"

"Love you, too!" Alistair replied.

Everything was going to be just perfect.


	8. Chapter 8 February Revelations

Chapter 8. February Revelations

The last thing Ven wanted to was to act any different from how he had been acting before leaving Hogwarts few weeks ago. True, he had had one of the worst Christmases of eleven years but that didn't mean he wanted to tell anyone anything about his mother leaving for good and his father not being home. That could have been easier if he hadn't been friends with Scorpius Malfoy who was the first to notice the difference.

"Is everything alright?" Scorpius asked. "You've been quiet. I mean, quieter than usually."

"I'm just fine," Ven replied shortly. He dug the old leather-bound book from his bag before they reached the grand, oaked doors of Hogwarts. "Thanks for the book. It was… good." Ven handed the brick-sized tome about the persecution of witches in the 18th century to Scorpius.

Scorpius frowned. "You finished it already?" he asked. "Really?"

Ven shrugged. "I had time," he said.

That was the truth. He had finished his homework in the first couple of days before starting to read the books he wasn't truly interested in. Like about muggle-architecture which Maria had been fascinated by. Their library was full of those. Scorpius' book also fell into the 'I'm-not-really-interested' category even though Ven didn't say that to Scorpius.

On their way to the Slytherin dungeons a familiar voice called them.

"Scorp! Zabini!"

Albus caught up with the other boys with a wide smile was blasted on his face. He was wearing a bright green jumper with a red capital A on it. It seemed to be a little too big for him.

"Happy New Year!" Albus said brightly.

"Happy New Year, Al," Scorpius replied with a smile.

"What's with the jumper?" Ven asked, positively amused by the piece of fabric. He hadn't seen Albus wearing it before and it certainly wasn't Albus' style.

"My grandma made it," Albus said and scratched the back of his head. "I get one every Christmas."

Ven felt a pang of jealously in his chest but he hid it behind a smile.

"How are you even here yet?" Scorpius asked curiously. "We didn't see you in the train."

Albus looked weird, like a mix of horror and embarrassment. He ran his hand through his messy hair and grinned uneasily. "Oh, I kinda returned here earlier this morning," he admitted. "With Neville."

"Neville?" Ven repeated, raising a brow.

"Professor Longbottom," Albus corrected. "He's a family friend. And my godfather, to be exact. James and Rosie came with him, too."

"Sounds… nice?" Ven snickered.

Albus groaned. "Yeah but please… Please, don't tell anyone I came back to school with a professor! It's embarrassing! No matter how cool Neville is! It's hard enough to be a Potter so you two keep your mouths shut about me being related to a professor!"

* * *

In the second week of January Alistair got a friendly reminder of the upcoming exams he had completely forgotten about. Mary, who had worked hard to remember all Jupiter's moons during the holiday with some help from Wilona, had mentioned being scared of failing her exam. Alistair had started worrying over his Potions exam as well but Layla had tried, and failed, to calm them down.

"Of course they're still far away," Layla had said while reading a book _Hogwarts: A History_. "But it's never too early to start studying," she had added and turned the page.

And of course, Toby disagreed with her. And with the professors.

"These exams will tell if you're able to continue to the second year," Professor Blishwick said dryly. "I do_ not_ prefer watching any of you here longer than seven years."

All professors gave increasing amount of homework and, with slight exception of Layla and Jeremiah, all first year Hufflepuffs were struggling to get through the essays and quizzes they were given. Professors Blishwick and Norwood were the worst and Prosper wasn't much better. Alistair even considered himself to be good at Defense and yet he had problems with the essay Professor Prosper had assigned.

But even so, in the middle of February, Toby managed to persuade the rest of the young Hufflepuffs to come with him to watch Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor Quidditch match. Even William, who was more interested in football than he was in Quidditch, was sitting with them with a black and yellow scarf around his neck. Toby and Layla were both ecstatic, waving small flags with the Hufflepuff's badger on them.

Slytherins, who were known for their eternal rivalry with Gryffindors, had even made a banderol about the Gryffindor chaser which said "Potter is a jerk". It was hardly worth mentioning it was Albus Potter who was holding it in spite of his brother who had made it to the Gryffindor team last year. And even though Slytherins weren't rooting for Hufflepuffs either, it was nice to notice they weren't completely against them.

The Hufflepuff team's Captain was a tall and boyish girl called Rebecca Bennett with broad shoulders and a faint scar on her chin. She was her team's Keeper, and determined to keep the quaffle on the other side of the field. Her team line-up was considered to be Hufflepuff's best in almost ten years.

"The Hufflepuff team – Bennett, Moore, Finch-Fletchley, Ezer, Armstrong, Walley, and Rhys," the announcer, a sixth year Ravenclaw Kelly Nawthorn, said when the players in black and yellow walked to the pitch. At the same time so did the Gryffindors. "And the Gryffindor team," Nawthorn continued, making the Slytherins on the stands to start booing at the Gryffindor team. "Firkins, Griffith, Minerich, Potter, McCardle, Weasley, and Leeming," Nawthorn said, ignoring the Slytherins.

At Madam Hooch's sign the both teams went up to the air and the game began. Angharad Ezer, the Hufflepuff Chaser, took the quaffle and before Firkins, the Gryffindor team's Keeper, had even time to react the quaffle went flying through the hoop.

It wasn't until Hufflepuffs had already scored 60 points for their team when Gryffindor's Captain, Ethan McCardle, finally scored.

"Minerich has the quaffle, and gets hit by a bludger in no time – that must have hurt, Walley knows how to aim – anyway, now Armstrong has the quaffle, passes slickly to Ezer, then back to Armstrong – there's the bludger again! – Armstrong passes to Finch-Fletchley and she gets a nasty bludger to her elbow. Finch-Fletchley flies towards the hoops and…!"

The red ball went past Firkins and the Hufflepuffs cheered.

"Go, Badgers!" Toby cried out when the fourth year Hufflepuff Timothy Finch-Fletchley scored.

* * *

The game continued and Gryffindor managed to score two times in row – first by McCardle, and soon after him by James Potter. Slytherins booed, Albus especially loudly. He had become bolder when it came to showing dislike on his brother. After all, being in James' shadow for eleven years had that kind of effect on Albus. Ven had still noticed Albus liked his brother and looked up to him even though Albus just didn't act like it most of the time. Well, actually he acted like he hated his brother full time. Most of it seemed to be only old grudge and teasing nowadays but when mixed with some Slytherin pride it was a very volatile combination.

It didn't take time until Nawthorn finally shrieked what they all had been waiting for: "Seekers have spotted the Snitch!"

And she was right. Both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Seekers were flying straight towards the little golden object near the grass line on the Gryffindor side of the field. Nawthorn's voice echoed in the stands.

"Gryffindor's Arthur Griffith is two brooms ahead of Hufflepuff's Rosalinda Moore. Griffith almost has the Snitch..! Moore flies recklessly higher, faster...! What the bloody hell is she doing?!"

All eyes on the stands were locked on the Hufflepuff Seeker who was flying over Griffith.

"She's... She's standing up!" Nawthorn exclaimed. "Moore is standing up on her broom! She… She _jumps_!?"

Rosalinda Moore jumped off her broom, missed hitting Arthur Griffith by mere inches, and rolled painfully on the ground before raising her hand.

"Rosalinda Moore has caught the Snitch! Hufflepuff wins Gryffindor 220-30!"

Hufflepuffs on the stands stood up, cheering and clapping their hands. Ven smirked, looking around. The Slytherins rejoiced the Gryffindor's loss, or possibly Hufflepuff's victory; which ever happened to please them more. Gryffindors instead sulked and held their heads down. None of them was cheering. They had gone through a complete slaughter against Hufflepuffs which hadn't happened in years.

"Hah! In your face, James!" Albus yelled from the stands towards the pitch where the Gryffindor team was shaking their hands glumly with the Hufflepuffs.

"He can't hear you, Al," Scorpius noted, folding away the banderol.

"I don't care!" Albus laughed. "Ah, it feels so good to be a Slytherin," he hummed when he, Scorpius, and Ven were walking back to the castle in a crowd of students. The celebrating Hufflepuffs roamed back to their basement, chanting lively. Gryffindors instead made their way back to their tower being unnaturally quiet.

"It was the Hufflepuff team who won," Ven corrected. "Mandragora." The corridor to the Slytherin common room opened and the three students walked in.

"As said, I don't care," Albus said and jumped on the couch, crossing his arms behind his head and grinning. "Gryffindors lost, it's enough a reason to celebrate being a Slytherin. I can't wait till I can tell dad how James screwed up the game!"

Ven smiled faintly and he noticed Scorpius glancing at him worriedly. Maybe he should tell him what was going on, he thought. He gritted his teeth.

And then again, time for that revelation would come later.

* * *

When Kelly Nawthorn had announced Hufflepuff's victory, Toby had practically jumped up from his seat and pulled Layla into a hug.

"We won!" he had cried out. "We won! Now we have even a chance to win the Quidditch Cup this year! We…! Oh." Layla had laughed when Toby had let go of her after realizing what he had been doing. "Umm, yeah," Toby had mumbled and avoided eye-contact with Layla for the rest of the evening.

It wasn't a surprise that the Hufflepuff's were throwing a big party in the basement through the night. Even the students below third year were allowed to take part but they were sent to their dorms at eleven when Walley took several bottles of Firewhisky to the common room.

"If we beat Slytherins… And Ravenclaw loses to Gryffindor," Toby mumbled, lying on his bed and chewing Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. "We really have a chance to win the Cup this year."

Alistair knew Toby was smiling though he couldn't see it from his bed where he was reading for their Transfiguration exam. Quidditch had become more appealing to him as well even though he was sure he would never want to play it himself. It seemed much too dangerous.

"It would be great," Alistair admitted. "Winning the Cup."

"Slytherins have a good team this year," Jeremiah chimed in. "And they have good brooms. Newer ones than Hufflepuffs. Ravenclaws didn't even stand a chance against them."

"Our Seeker is the best," Toby said rather bluntly. "No one in this school beats Moore, no matter what kind of brooms they have. She's a genius! The fastest seeker of the century!"

"She broke her wrist," William stated dully and turned the page of the muggle magazine he was reading. "She's reckless."

"That's a minor point," Toby snorted. "And Miss Perks healed her wrist after the game. And we'll definitely win. Bennett and Moore will graduate this year. As if they would want to go home empty handed! The Cup will be ours, just wait and see!"

"But Slytherin's have won three times in a row," Jeremiah said. "Their tactics are…"

The debate between the young Hufflepuffs continued even though Alistair had fallen asleep. He didn't dream about Quidditch or exams. He dreamed about the summer but outside the castle it was sleeting and the ground would soon be covered in slush.


	9. Chapter 9 Last Weeks and Farewells

Chapter 9. Last Weeks and Farewells

The summer holidays neared, and so did the exams. And it could be said that all days didn't go as well as they could have gone. You see, the pressure affected the some students more than they affected the others.

"Bloody Merlin's fat arse!" Chastity cried out. She dug out a napkin from her pocket and started to clean her robe from the eel's eyes she had accidentally pushed over.

Professor Blishwick stood up from her desk and marched towards the table where Chastity was sitting with her brother. The professor looked very resentful with her brows furrowed and a sneer curling her thin lips. Thought the displeased face didn't really differ from her usual expression. She stopped in front of Chastity and slammed her hands on the table.

"Fifteen points from Hufflepuff for your manners and clumsiness, Miss Holmes!" she shrieked and then cleaned the eyes away from Chastity's robe with a simple yet effective scouring charm.

Chastity's eyes widened. "But...!" she tried complaining in shock but the professor silenced her with an icy glare.

"And this will be the last lesson you and Mr. Holmes will be working as a team in my classroom!" Professor added sternly. "Maybe you'll begin concentrating when you can't just sit there and expect the others to do all the work!"

Claude's gaze was blank as usual and he continued to stir their potion without a second thought after Professor Blishwick had finished her rant and returned to her desk. Chastity frowned but remained silent when Luke Corner snickered at her with his friends.

The class felt longer than ever. For the Ravenclaws delight Professor Blishwick had even started keeping her hawk eyes trained only on the Hufflepuffs after William had by accident managed turn his and Jeremiah's potion into a mud-coloured, bubbling slime. Alistair was happy he was walking with Mary who actually paid attention on was it three and half counter stirs or not. That still didn't mean that their potion had ever actually been worth praising.

When the class was finally dismissed and the Hufflepuffs were on their way to the Great Hall for lunch, Chastity was fuming. "She's such a harpy!" she shouted angrily and looked like she was ready to claw out eyes from the next person who said the wrong words to her. "Someday I'll hex her and I won't even regret it!"

"She always acts like that," Toby reminded her with a grin. "But hey, you saved yourself from detention. She didn't notice you had actually fallen asleep."

Chastity groaned loudly. "But she'll now separate me from Claude!" she said desperately. "You know how Claude is! Corner is a git and the other Claws aren't any better... His grades will drop and he won't pass his exams and his life will be ruined!"

Alistair sighed at the exaggeration but didn't say a word. He didn't want to get on Chastity's black list.

* * *

With the ever-increasing pile of homework and the first of June approaching there was no time for slacking anymore in the Slytherin dormitories. Instead of trying to study in the noise of the common room the four first year Slytherins had barricaded themselves into their dorm with snacks. Scorpius and Ven sat on their respective beds whereas Albus and Darius were on the floor.

Albus stood up and threw himself to Scorpius' bed. "Finally!" he said, holding up a scroll full of messy handwriting. "My essay of the house elf traditions in 18th century is finished! I'm done!"

"Congratulations. But you haven't finished your star chart yet," Scorpius said and placed the Astrology book he was reading to his lap. "Or more likely you haven't even started it."

"I have started it!" Albus said defensively. "I just don't remember where I've left it! There's a difference!"

Darius snickered and rolled over on the floor to face the ceiling. "Must be under your bed," he said cheekily. "Usually everything you lose finds its way there. Like all your left foot socks."

Ven frowned when the decibels went up; Albus started loudly complaining about how everything he had lost definitely hadn't find their way under his bed and Darius laughed at him. After a while it was getting too loud for Ven to concentrate so he raised his eyes from the essay he was supposed to write for Professor Norwood. He got ready to say a couple of carefully chosen words to his dorm mates. He knew he was easily frustrated by noise. He simply wasn't used to it.

It was true that Ven had shown his skills few times in Transfiguration class and usually gotten good grades from the previous essays but other than that Transfiguration was the only subject he wasn't actually very good at. In History of Magic, yes, in Potions, of course, and in Astronomy, which was still his favourite, he was exceptional. And he wanted to excel at Transfiguration and that was impossible if he couldn't even concentrate on writing his essay!

"Maybe it's in the common room," Ven tried and hoped Albus and Darius would shut up.

Albus blinked. "Yeah," he said slowly with a smile. "You're probably right." He nodded profusely as if remembering precisely where the chart was. "Now I'll just take a nap before…"

"Looking for this, Potter?"

The raven haired Slytherin girl waved a piece of parchment in the air and leaned to the door frame. She had a wide smirk on her pointed face. Ven rolled his eyes. Wouldn't it be just his luck if the only one who louder, and more annoying, than Albus and Darius combined came to find that stupid chart? And she would have no intention of giving it back.

"You can keep it, Rosier," Albus said as nonchalantly as he could. "Perhaps your grades will rise?" he sneered.

"Look who's talking!" Acacia Rosier laughed in a voice sounding more like hissing. She looked rather shocked that Albus hadn't even asked to get his homework back. "Lucinda and I have already finished all our essays due next week," she said and tossed the parchment on the floor. "So keep your stupid chart, Potter." She slammed the door shut and left the boys' dormitories.

"Well that was easier than I thought", Albus snickered and went to retrieve his chart on the floor before he slumped against the soft cushions of Scorpius' bed. "Now, Scorp, my intellectual friend…"

"I'm not showing you my chart," Scorpius said firmly.

Albus' face fell. "Oh, come on!"

* * *

"Mr. Holmes will work from now on with Miss Hiffgins," Professor Blishwick said dryly when Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws arrived to her class two days after Chastity's eel's eye accident. Mary moved quietly from her usual spot to the other side of the class to sit with Claude. "Miss Holmes instead will work with Mr. Nott."

"Thank Merlin she picked you," Chastity whispered and sat next to Alistair. Alistair just smiled nervously. Chastity wasn't the best to work with because she didn't really pay attention. She either slept or concentrated literally on everything else than on potions.

Professor Blishwick wrote instructions on the board.

"Today we will work with something simple since you seemingly aren't ready to move to the more complicated potions so pick up your cauldrons and turn to page 27."

After two hours and several boils later the class was over. Both Chastity and Alistair hurried to Mary who was cleaning her and Claude's potion remnants from the table. They helped her so they could get away from the dungeons as quickly as possible.

"Well? How did it go?" Chastity asked outside the class when she was sure Professor Blishwick wouldn't hear. She had been worried sick and her thoughts had been on Claude instead of her and Alistair's potion. Which they had failed miserably and gained murderous glares from the professor.

Mary smiled. "He's actually quite nice to work with when you learn to communicate with him," she said. "He even thanked me."

Chastity was overjoyed. "Great!" She practically danced her way to their common room entrance instead of walking. "Thank Merlin you were made his partner and not that prat Corner. Or Toby. Claude doesn't like him," she added with a wry smile.

* * *

Finally when June's second week started the exams were over and the results were out. Ven had passed all his tests with the grades better than the average. The Head of Slytherin, Professor Blishwick, had been especially proud when both Ven and Scorpius had gotten over ninety percent right in the test she had made and even brewed the draught correctly. Professor Binns instead couldn't care less about their grades; even Albus and Darius had passed their tests and they had been sleeping through the History of Magic classes for the better part of the year.

"Only one week and this is over," Albus sighed, staring out the window and hoping to catch a glimpse of the Giant Squid. "I can't believe it's summer already."

"We'll be coming back in few weeks," Scorpius said.

"Yeah but I have to spend my whole summer holiday listening James," Albus groaned theatrically. "About how they lost the Quidditch Cup to Ravenclaw and… Ugh! You should have seen him during the Christmas! He'll tease the hell out of me!"

Ven laughed. "But think about it," he said. "It's _only_ few weeks."

"_Only _few weeks as the only Slytherin in our family," Albus corrected. "Perhaps I should hide in Kreacher's closet or something…"

"But we can always write to us," Scorpius said kindly.

"I'll send you a card from Bulgaria," Darius chimed in with a wide grin. He was going to spend his whole summer in Bulgaria with his parents and take part in a Quidditch Camp.

"If you see famous Quidditch players, will get me autographs from them?" Albus asked half-hopefully. Of course he already had autographs from 'the youngest Seeker of the century', 'the star Chaser of the Holyhead Harpies', and 'the Bulgarian bonbon', also known as his dad, mum, and Cousin Louis' godfather.

Darius stuck out his tongue. "Nope."

"Git," Albus retorted.

* * *

In the day of the Leaving Feast Alistair couldn't stop smiling.

He had gotten 98 percent right in his Herbology exam, and he had even passed Potions. He wasn't very sure what his father would say though but he was happy nevertheless. Toby instead had been overwhelming with happiness when they got their results last week.

"Norwood let me pass!" he had laughed and even hugged Crane in the common room. "And I suck at Transfiguration!"

"I got 100 percent right in Charms," Layla had announced and attached her test to the bulletin board where everyone could see it. "I can't wait till the next year," she had added to Mary. "Professor Flitwick said he'll teach us some advanced magic."

Chastity had been proud of herself as well. "Madam Hooch had mentioned my little hex on Corner to Professor Prosper," she had told with a faint blush on her cheeks. "He even flattered me. Perhaps I should hex that git more often."

Even Slytherins won over the House Cup couldn't flatten the mood in the Great Hall and the day went fast. Before even realizing it Alistair was in the train with his full trunk next to him and Iniga was sleeping peacefully in her cage. Snuffles croaked once in a while and tried to escape from his basket and Toby didn't shut about Quidditch.

"Hey, 'Listair," Toby said when they had arrived to the King's Cross station and exited the train. "We'll come pick you up next month." He grinned. "I'll send you an owl."

Alistair nodded with a smile. "I'll be looking forward to it."

His first year was over but his journey had just begun. After all, this had been only the beginning.

END OF THE YEAR ONE


	10. Chapter 10 Bonus: Behind the Characters

Chapter 10. BONUS: Behind the Characters

First year is over! A big thank you for everyone who has read it!

Sorry, this isn't really a chapter after all. More like info or something like that. Feel free to skip it, or feel free to read it. It's up to you. So, as the year one is over I want to take some time and explain some things about the characters and stuff with no spoilers about the future. Hopefully.

* * *

About the story:

I didn't want to write a typical Harry Potter OC story. First of all, I didn't want to create a Mary Sue to fall in love with an already existing character, and secondly I wanted my story to take place during the second generation (so I could use Albus, Rose, and Scorpius as well) instead of the nineties. So I created a character you now know as Alistair. He had absolutely nothing to do with Harry Potter and so started writing a story around him. Later I got the idea of yet another character, and so Ven was born.

Actually, when I started writing this I had no idea how long I would make the first year. You know, because when I had started writing this story it was about their fifth year and not about their first year (screw me…) so these first four years will eventually lead to what I had planned to happen when the characters are fifteen years old and these four years (in my eyes) will pretty much be written only to explain why certain characters act like they act later.

So this first year was actually written so you could get used to the characters, and most of the characters got actually pretty well introduced during the year. The second year will concentrate mostly on few minor plots (so it's kind of a filler year) instead of Alistair and Ven and their story. But of course, because they're the main characters, they'll still be there.

* * *

About the Hufflepuffs:

First of all, my main Hufflepuffs remind me of the Golden Trio. That wasn't intentional, though. Alistair, Toby, and Layla were the first characters to be created for this story. The Head of the Hufflepuff House, Wylie Buttonpress, didn't appear during the first year because she didn't teach any of them and so I didn't want to force her to make an appearance. She's a Muggle Studies professor. Actually I was going to make Neville, as he teaches Herbology, the Head of Hufflepuff but because he was a Gryffindor I scrapped that idea.

Alistair Nott was the very first character of this story and everything was written around him until I got the idea about Ven; the plot changed a lot, thanks to the Slytherin's point of few. Making Alistair a Hufflepuff was the most important part of creating the character. His parents being from different houses (Slytherin and Gryffindor respectively) he wasn't sure which house he would belong though he knew he shared some traits with his father like cleverness and some sort of cunningness, too, which would have made him a good Slytherin like the Sorting Hat would have wanted. He shows many Hufflepuff traits like patience and kindness as well as dedication to his friends and tolerance towards the students of other house. He's grown in a happy family but without any magical friends. He's a little clumsy and he doesn't pay attention on everything around himself which makes him even more Hufflepuff-like. He has strawberry blonde hair, freckles, and chocolate brown eyes. He is quite short but he will get his growth spurt.

Tobias Jones was probably the easiest character to make. A friendly Hufflepuff fellow with Gryffindor courage, that's Toby. I don't have really much to say about him at the moment. Well, he's quite of short-tempered when his badger pride is threatened which is pretty much every time when they have classes with Ravenclaw or Slytherin. He's the most childish of the Hufflepuff boys and knows the least about the muggle world. If anyone in this story loves his family more than Alistair it's definitely Toby. Born in the large family of Jones he has several cousins, uncles, and aunts. He loves talking about his Great Aunt Gwenog who is probably his favourite relative. Toby is all about Quidditch, you'll see. He was mentioned being taller than Alistair but he is actually quite short. His hair is dark brown, and he has dark copper coloured skin and mouldy green eyes.

Layla Macmillan, the obligatory female sidekick! Just kidding, Layla will be a more important character later. She was the first female character I actually made for this story, and she is best friends with Alistair and Toby. When compared to Chastity and Mary Layla is the most intelligent one. Her role during the first year was very small because she wasn't really needed for the plot at this point. She will become more important. Her parents are Ernie Macmillan (who is actually one of my favourite characters) and Laura Madley. They were both Hufflepuffs during the nineties. I wanted to make Layla to be as much as possible like her father. She also shares many traits with Hermione, with a slight exception that Layla actually likes Quidditch. Layla is the shortest of the Hufflepuffs. He has brownish blonde hair and narrow grey-green eyes

When talking about Hufflepuffs I have to mention Chastity Holmes. She is actually the only character who is intentionally based on some other character. If you have ever watched _Emmerdale_ there's that amazing character called Chas Dingle. I mean, really. She's the best! I love Cain, too… I gave Chastity a wizard father and a squib mother to make her more unique. She's very proud of her mother and brother especially. Chastity is actually younger of the two Holmes children and she was born to look after her brother, Claude. She is one of the strongest female characters in this story. Though she's tomboyish she has also her girlish traits. He has a very twitching wand hand which she isn't afraid to use. That's because in addition of Chas Dingle I actually thought about Bellatrix Lestrange a lot when I created her. She has wavy, dark hair and grey eyes. During the first year she was the second tallest of the Hufflepuffs, only William being taller than her.

William Thomas, son of Dean Thomas and Parvati Patil, but I guess you already knew that much. He wasn't on my first list of the characters but he was created at the same time with Mary and Jeremiah during the second character list I made. William is artistic and prefers football over Quidditch, just like his father, but he actually has this little quirk of his for being a bit gossipy, which was trait from his mother. But William gossips only with Jeremiah. William has his father's dark skin colour and brown eyes.

Jeremiah Percival Greenden, JP for short, is the chubby bookworm of the Hufflepuffs. Like Layla, he's very intelligent and doesn't need to study as much as the others though he studies anyway because he gets easily nervous about his grades. He's actually quite touchy about his looks and watches what he eats. He is actually good friends with William and Mary. He has light brown hair and green eyes.

Mary Hiffgins is a quiet and gentle Muggle-born girl. Come on, I had to have a character like her. It was actually my sister who gave the actual idea about her. She described her as a girl in clothes ten sizes too big for her. Mary isn't actually a pushover though she gets teased by other students, mainly by the Slytherin girls. I actually dislike the name 'Mary' but it suits her so I didn't change it when my sister suggested that name for her. She has bright brown eyes and dirty blonde hair.

* * *

About the Slytherins:

All my Slytherin boys end with an S! Ventus, Albus, Scorpius, and Darius. It was partly intentional. It represents that they're snakes (and yes, Tobias ends in S, too. He would have actually made a rather nice Slytherin actually). Professor Imelda Blishwick was the first teacher I made for the story, hooray, and I like to write about her. As I have said I actually hadn't planned writing about Slytherins but when Ven was created I noticed that I had to. And I'm glad I did.

Ven Zabini was actually my fourth character to be created (Alistair, Toby, and Layla being the three before him). He appeared in my mind as a rival to Alistair because of their very different backgrounds. Ven is a Slytherin to the core; he's determined and clever, but he also appreciates the feeling of fraternity he gets from his fellow Slytherins. I had from the start decided Ven's mother wouldn't stay in the picture for long. Ven is not familiar with love and shows very little compassion towards his family. I mean, Blaise is an intelligent man but I never saw him as a father figure. Blaise showed no pull towards the dark side when he was younger and with a motto 'you can never trust a Slytherin completely' I made him an Auror. He's often away from the manor and so Ven is very close to their house elf, Tabby. Nevertheless Ven is very strong but usually quiet which makes him sound blunt when he talks. He's always a little overshadowed by Albus and Scorpius but it doesn't bother him at all. Ven isn't actually interested in Death Eaters, and he has no will to have anything to do with them but still he keeps an eye on so called Death Eater descendants. He doesn't look after Alistair more than he looks after Scorpius; it's actually the opposite because he's with the Malfoy heir all the time. Even though, Ven's fascinated how a member of a Death Eater family could be in Hufflepuff and he's very curious about Alistair. Ven is tall but not as tall as Darius and Scorpius. He has dark skin, though not as dark as Blaise's, and dark brown, almost black, hair. His eyes are almond-shaped and hazel coloured.

Albus Potter was one of the most difficult characters to portray. You've probably read stories about Albus being sorted into Slytherin so I'm sure it didn't really surprise you. When I started writing this story I had no idea what kind of personality I was going to give to Albus. I mean, yes, he's the son of mighty Harry Potter and he has an older brother, James, who is kind of a perfect mixture of Harry and Ginny. Albus wants to be different from his father and brother. The Deathly Hallows epilogue shows that James has a habit of teasing his brother. When James tells (lies!) about Scorpius to Albus he didn't even consider Albus might get friends with a Malfoy, and eventually decide to join the Slytherin House and finally have a chance to show his brother that he won't always stand in his brother's shadow. So nice one, James. When I was making the earliest drafts of the story, Albus appeared for the first time I was like 'oh, right, I have to write about Albus here… Umm, well' and he ended up being a little bit like young Sirius instead of a silent and thoughtful boy. I gave him a laid-back, 'I don't care' attitude to counter all the calmness Ven and Scorpius showed most of the time. To them Albus is positive and loyal and a bit annoying because he doesn't try to act like someone he's not. True, Albus isn't the most intelligent one of them but well, he's Albus Potter. He has messy black hair and piercing green eyes.

Scorpius Malfoy was much easier to write about. The son of a Death Eater who is raised to follow pureblood superiority rules and make other kids lick his shoes… Not. From the moment I decided to bring Scorpius into this story he was going to the House of Slytherin. Why? He doesn't act like a true Slytherin at all! Wrong. Scorpius hides his sensitiveness behind calm demeanour for the most of the time and he's emotionally very introverted but he has few strong Slytherin traits. He shows determination to prove himself, just like Albus, he's cunning and clever, and you'll see that as a cherry on top he has a certain disregard for the rules. In the group of Slytherins Scorpius resembles Remus Lupin the most – he doesn't agree with everything Albus (Sirius) and Ven (James) do but he supports them with his kindness and intelligence, proving the stereotypes against himself wrong. Scorpius has platinum blonde hair and stormy grey eyes.

Darius Flint is the son of Marcus Flint and a woman whose name I haven't yet mentioned because I won't tell who I ship him with (Well, I actually ship Marcus with Oliver Wood but because I'm not a big fan of mpreg Darius in not related to Wood). Darius was made to be a filler character. He's the fourth member of the 'Slytherin Marauders' where he represents Peter Pettigrew. Is Darius like Peter, then? Yes, he quite is. Darius adore the other boys in his dorm, especially Albus. He likes to eat, and he's a little careless and sometimes he needs the help of his friends. Darius doesn't spend all his time with the other Slytherins of his year; he likes to hang out with the older Slytherins. He is the tallest of the Slytherins. He has brown hair and dark brown eyes.

Acacia Rosier, the other of two mentioned Slytherin girls, is from a Death Eater family just like Alistair and Scorpius. She doesn't really know about her heritage because Rosiers returned to the light side after the Second War and neither of her parents was a Death Eater, or she simply doesn't care. She's not Evan Rosier's daughter. Acacia was created during the first list of characters, being the only Slytherin girl at the time. She's noisy, cheeky, and well, plain mean. She has black hair and blue eyes.

Lucinda Cross, the best friend of Acacia, was created a lot later. She didn't really have much to do during the first year so there's actually nothing to say about her, except that she can be quite bitchy. She's written to be pretty but her nature clashes with her looks. She is taller than Acacia, and she has blonde, curly hair and hazel eyes.

* * *

About the characters from the other Houses:

As this story is about Hufflepuff and Slytherin, the other Houses will have to stay on the background. Filius Flitwick is still the Head of Ravenclaw and the Transfiguration Professor Caius Norwood is the new Head of the Gryffindor House. I really don't have much to say about him.

Claude Holmes, the twin brother of Chastity, is a Ravenclaw. He has a brilliant mind which is why he was sorted into different House than his sister. Claude is by no means weak. He's determined that someday he won't be pushed around and bullied and he's patiently waiting for that to happen. And about him talking… We could say he talks only to people he likes. He looks a lot like Chastity as he, too, has dark hair and grey eyes.

Luke Corner, son of Michael Corner, is also a Ravenclaw. His best friends are Emmett Darcy and Leon Flannery. Luke acts like their leader, and he's pretty much a git. He doesn't really like Claude and he teases him a lot. Don't blame him! He's just written that way. He has blond hair and brown eyes.

Emmett Darcy is not much better than Luke but he's somehow smarter as he doesn't try to pick up a fight with Chastity. He's also taller than Luke and Leon. He has spiky, dark hair and dark eyes.

The third boy in their group, Leon Flannery, didn't really have a role during the first year. He was only briefly mentioned being with Luke and Emmett at the Quidditch pitch. He has blondish, ginger hair and blue eyes.

Rose Weasley, brilliant daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley, is a Gryffindor. I don't actually like her much, and I don't like writing about her either. It has probably something to do with the fact I never really liked either of her parents very much. She's intelligent and kind and has a big group of Gryffindor friends but she also likes to chat with Albus and his fellow Slytherins. She has bushy, auburn coloured hair and blue eyes. Her group of friends includes Sarida Rai, who Ven mentioned shortly only by her last name, and Gennifer Parker, whose last name was only mentioned during the Sorting Ceremony.

Leonard Yale (the kid who fall in the lake, does anyone remember him?) is also a Gryffindor and a part of Rose's friends but he doesn't hang out with the other Gryffindor girls than her. He's clumsy and chubbier than Jeremiah. He has light brown hair and grey eyes.

In addition to these characters the list goes on and on. As a matter of fact in my list of original first year characters were actually only four Hufflepuffs (Alistair, Toby, Layla, and Chastity), four Ravenclaws (Claude, Luke, Emmett, and Leon), and three Slytherins (Ven, Darius, and Acacia), and… Yeah, well. There was no Gryffindors, I hated creating them. I'm not an anti-Gryffindor! I just had problems with them. But I may make the Gryffindor lose the House Cup again…

The next chapter will start the second year.

Again, thanks for reading and I hope you've enjoyed!


	11. Chapter 11 Summer

Hooded Spellcaster is proud to present THE SECOND YEAR in her story 'SLYTHERIN PRIDE, HUFFLEPUFF PREJUDICE'.

A/N: At first I want to thank everyone who have read the first year, I love you all so much! This year won't be much different except that now Alistair, Ven, and the company are an year older than before. My babies are growing up so fast... I try to make this year about ten chapters long so once again tag along with me, mates.

Second Year Summary: Alistair and Ven are back for their second year. The Hufflepuffs' loyalty is put into the test when friends clash with each other. A mysterious new professor enters the castle but is he hiding his true intentions? And how will be the Valentine's Day at Hogwarts?

Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter or anything related to it. Recognizable characters and parts of Harry Potter storyline belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros. respectively. I don't make any profit by writing this. Thank you.

* * *

Chapter 1. Summer

The summer 2018 was the hottest and sweatiest in recent memory. The temperature verged on 42 degrees and many wizards resorted to using cooling charms wherever they went. Of course for the magical folk the weather was easier to adapt – the muggles were struggling with sunscreens and ventilators where the wizards just by flicking a wand could have their own personal flurries.

Ana Nott kept sighing as she sat in the shadow at the parking lot near the King's Cross station. She waved at herself with her brimmed hat and once in a while she asked if Alistair had forgotten anything. Alistair sat on his trunk and watched his mother pacing back and worth.

"I have packed everything, mother", Alistair told her once again and smiled. "I'm being there only one week. And it's Holyhead. It's not like going to the continent or anything like that", he said. "I wouldn't need my passport or the tenth pair of socks, anyway."

"I'm just being worried", Ana said and huffed. She had been nervous about Alistair going to Holyhead with the Jones family.

"You don't need to worry", Alistair said and patted his mother's shoulder. "I'll be fine." Ana didn't look convinced. "I'm sure Mr and Mrs Jones will look after us", Alistair added firmly. "They even gave you their floo-address. You can call me if you want."

"It's just so weird to let you go with total strangers", Ana said. She hadn't met Mr and Mrs Jones before, just seen a glimpse last year at the Platform 9 ¾.

"They're my best friend's family", Alistair said strictly so that his mother wouldn't change her mind at the last minute. "And they won't be strangers any more when you meet them. But actually they're a bit late..."

Just then an old, bright red Volkswagen curved at the parking lot with a terribly high speed. Ana gasped, her eyes widening in shock. The front door opened and an elder man with a purple top hat came out from the car mumbling furiously.

"Damn these vehicles!" he said and kicked the front tyre. "Automatic transmission and cruise control..."

"Alistaaair!" Toby called from a car window before jumping out from the backseat. Alistair could see two other children in the car, a girl sitting on the front seat and looking slightly bored and a boy on the backseat, seeming not a single bit more interested than the girl. Toby grinned widely, his hair has been cut since they last time saw each other. "Nice to see you, Mrs N.", he said to Ana. "'Listair, you ready?"

Alistair nodded. "Yes", he said but glanced at the car suspiciously. He wasn't sure would Ana let him travel with them if the parking looked like that. And that was exactly what Ana was thinking.

"Excuse me, mister, you must be Tobias' father?" Ana asked the man sternly. She was going to say few words about safe driving. The addressed man laughed at her.

"Oh no, no!" he chuckled. "Toby here is my wife's nephew. Those two –" The man beckoned at the two raven haired children sitting in the car. "– are mine and Hestia's." The man took off his hat and bowed. "I'm Dedalus Diggle, at your service, ma'am."

Ana Nott blushed when Mr Diggle kissed her hand. "Oh my", she giggled, forgetting to say anything about the car. "I mean, is it completely okay that Alistair comes with you?" she asked. "I don't want him to be burden to you. Birthdays are meant to be celebrated with family and..."

"Nonsense!" Mr Diggle snorted and waved his hand. "Everything is completely fine, Mrs Nott. If Alistair wants to come with us we don't really have any problem here, do we?"

"I suppose not", Ana hesitantly admitted, glancing at her son. Alistair nodded.

"Brilliant!" Mr Diggle exclaimed and rolled up his sleeves. "Now let's get your trunk in the car, shall we?"

Soon Alistair was sitting on the Volkswagen's backseat between Toby and the younger raven haired boy with pink tinted cheeks. The boy glanced Alistair suspiciously.

"That's Ion", Toby told, gaining a glare from the little boy. "He's starting at Hogwarts this year." The girl, another raven, glanced at them with raised eyebrows. "And that's Nike", Toby added. "She's two years older than us."

Alistair nodded. "Nice to meet all of you", he said politely but only Mr Diggle replied.

"It's very nice to meet you, too, Alistair", he said brightly. "I hope you'll like your time with us at Holyhead. It's very beautiful at the time of year. Not so hot there than it's here in London."

"Are we going by a car all the way?" Alistair asked curiously. Toby snorted at the comment like it had been something completely ridiculous.

"Bloody no", he said. "We'll use a Portkey when we get to Maidenhead. Some relatives live there. My cousin and..."

"Your second cousin Vesta", Nike corrected blankly from the front seat. "And Uncle Englewood with his new wife."

"Yeah, those", Toby agreed and held back a grimace. "Vesta will come with us to Holyhead."

"Ah, yes, charming young Vesta", Mr Diggle hummed and tapped his finger on the steering wheel. "Reminds her aunt greatly."

"He's talking about his wife, Aunt Hestia", Toby whispered. "They still act like they've just fallen in love. It's sick."

"I think it's cute", Alistair told with a blush when Mr Diggle started humming the wedding march. "Quite romantic, actually."

Toby frowned but didn't complain. Ion had fallen asleep and was resting his head on the car window. Nike was reading a book which sparked Alistair's attention.

"What're you reading?" he asked the girl.

Nike grinned. "Advanced transfiguration", she said. "Mostly about animagi."

"What's animagi?" Alistair asked, simply curious. He hadn't heard about those before. Nike's grin widened as Toby instead looked like he wanted to jump out the moving car.

"Just great", Toby groaned sourly. "Now she won't shut up before we're at Vesta's place..."

Nike babbled about the animagi for almost half an hour before they reached Maidenhead from where they would continue to Holyhead. Vesta was a small, owl-like woman with big bulging eyes and pitch black hair which stuck out ridiculously. Nike didn't seem to like her very much. She tried hiding before her father, poorly succeeding in it.

"N_ii_ke", Vesta whined, seeing how Nike looked at her. "Why you're frown_ii_ng? You'll get wr_ii_nkles!"

Alistair cringed. Vesta had a horrible habit to drawl her speech. It was pain for ears.

"If I ever learn to become an animagi I'll bite her head off in her sleep and make it look like some beast did it", Nike hissed when only Alistair and Toby could hear.

The portkey that was supposed to send Mr Diggle, Nike, Ion, Toby, Alistair, and Vesta to Holyhead was an old picnic basket. In a matter of seconds, that felt like being stuck in a blender for a small eternity, they weren't anymore at the yard in Maidenhead but on a hill close to a grand manor surrounded by the smaller houses. It looked like a small village.

"Welcome to the Jones estate", Toby said with a grin when they walked down the hill, towards the main house.

"It's amazing", Alistair whispered, looking at the manor. "I've never been in a place this big."

"But you're from an old pureblood family?" Toby snorted as they reached the double doors. "Of course the Nott family's mansion is bigger than this. More luxurious and all."

Alistair shook his head. "We don't have a mansion", he stated. "My father sold it after the war. I don't think he wanted to live there alone."

"Oh, sorry", Toby said and let go of the door handle. "I just always thought you lived in a mansion." He looked slightly guilty. "You being a Nott and all. Where do you live then?"

"In a four room house in Bexley", Alistair told. Toby couldn't control himself. He almost choked on his laughter. "What's so funny?" Alistair asked, being a little hurt but also a little amused by his friend's reaction.

"I just can't see you living in a regular house without house elves and riches", Toby replied and opened the doors to the hall.

"We do have a house elf", Alistair corrected when they finally stepped inside the manor. "Her name's Courty. But she doesn't really like me."

"What? Have you kicked her or something?" Toby asked, though he couldn't actually believe Alistair would have kicked a house elf.

"No, she's just a little conservative", Alistair said, ashamed. "I'm not a pureblood, you see. That's why she only likes to serve my father."

"I always thought you're a pureblood", Toby admitted. "So your mom is a...?"

"Half-blood", Alistair said. His mother was a half-blood and so were he.

Toby grinned. "I thought you're the only pureblood in our class but now suddenly there's none", he said. "But well, being a pure-blooded is overrated."

"Is this house fully magical?" Alistair asked, changing the subject. "Or is there electricity?"

"Electricity?" Toby snorted, once again sounding like Alistair had stated something completely ridiculous. "Why would we have electricity? We're wizards!"

Alistair shrugged awkwardly. It was 2018 for Merlin's sake whether they were wizards or not! He had a laptop and a PlayStation5 at home and he had even packed his iPad but there he couldn't even recharge it if the battery runs out. Maybe he would show it to Toby later, though. He has probably never seen one.

Alistair hadn't been in a place with such many wizards and witches if he didn't count Hogwarts. Toby's family included his parents, his grandparents, his several aunts and uncles and other relatives.

"We didn't even invite other than the closest relatives because this is justa birthday party", Toby explained on their way through the lounge. "You should have seen this place at Christmas! I didn't even know half of those people!"

Alistair was told that the actual party would be after couple of days when he met Toby's mother for the first time.

"There's so much to do", Mrs Jones – a little plump woman with sun kissed skin and warm eyes – said and hurried to kitchen with Vesta and couple other women who Alistair didn't know by name.

"Aunts Hestia and Diana", Toby said, answering the unasked question. "Come, I'll show you where we sleep", he added but when Alistair didn't follow him but stared at the moving pictures of famous Quidditch players and several brooms located in glass shelves. Toby rolled his eyes and sighed. "Stop spacing out, 'Listair. You'll get enough of those during the week", he said.

"This place is wonderful", Alistair stated. "I've never been in a place like this. It's so... lively."

"You can say that to Aunt Gwenog", Toby told with a grin. "She owns this place."

They walked through the house till they ended up in the second floor corridor. Alistair had tried to memorize all corners and corridors so he wouldn't get lost later but it seemed an impossible task.

"They make us share a room", Toby explained. "I hope you don't mind."

Alistair shook his head. "It's alright", he said. "We share a dorm at Hogwarts. It's not very different."

Toby grinned and opened the door with the name 'Tobias' in it. "Nike has to share her room, too", he said. "With Iris. Iris is Hestia's godfather's grandchild or something. She graduated couple years back."

"What house was she in?" Alistair asked.

"Ravenclaw", Toby snorted. "Just like Nike, and most of her family, anyway. I won't be surprised when Ion will end up in Ravenclaw, too. He's a bookworm like his sister."

"Nike's nice", Alistair said with a smile.

"Yeah, she is", Toby agreed snidely. "For a Ravenclaw."

"Is there any Slytherins in your family?" Alistair asked suddenly. Toby looked perplexed for a moment.

"Slytherins?" he repeated. "I guess so but I don't know any."

* * *

The heat limit was exceeded also in the South West England even though the temperature was much lower than it was in Italy where Ven usually spend his summers. The Zabini manor was magically cooled down but Blaise was boiling with anger. Maria Amell had sent the divorce papers to him in the beginning of July. Ven tried his best to not think about his mother who had ran to Italy while he had been in Hogwarts. She hadn't even bothered to leave a single note.

It had been the first Saturday of August when Blaise received a visitor more welcome than the lawyer Maria had sent from Italy. The visiting woman had thin lips and calculating grey eyes, her dark hair being cut short. She had an expensive muggle suit on and a briefcase in her hand. Blaise led her to the living room where Ven was doing his homework. The woman sat down and sighed.

"I heard about Amell", she said, holding her free hand over her chest and sighing again, this time more dramatically. "I'm so sorry, Blaise", she said but in Ven's ears she didn't sound sorry at all.

"Brash", Ven hissed, masking it with a cough.

When noticing Ven the woman pursed her lips. "Your _son_?" she crooned at Blaise, looking at Ven under her eyelashes.

"Yes", Blaise said. "Ven, would you…?"

Ven gritted his teeth but nodded and exited the living room, closing the door behind himself. His father had dismissed him. Blaise never did that when he had visitors earlier. Ven glared at the door. That woman was what made him furious. She had even dared to sit on Maria's chair.

It took two and half hours before Blaise escorted the woman to the hall. Ven grimaced when he saw how she kissed both of Blaise's cheeks and smiled ingratiatingly.

"Have a good day, Blaise", she said like Ven hadn't been in the room at all. "We'll see at work."

Ven waited few seconds until he was sure the woman had apparated away.

"Who was her?" he asked. Blaise raised a brow.

"Tracey Davis", he replied shortly. "An old friend."

"From the Ministry?" Ven snorted. "She looked more than just a friend."

"Don't even start that", Blaise stated. There was a warning in his words but Ven didn't care this time. After Maria had moved away Blaise had been away from the manor even more than before and Ven had begun having suspicions about his father's motives.

"She didn't wear a ring", Ven said, crossing his arms. "Neither do you, though. How long have you two been meeting like that? Weeks?" he asked. "Or months? Did mother know?"

"Ventus", Blaise warned.

"It's not my business, anyway", Ven continued coldly, looking at his father. "It's you who's having lipstick on the collar", he spat. He wasn't used to talking his father like that but the adrenaline in his blood helped to verbalize what he truly wanted to say.

"True, it's not your business", Blaise stated as coldly. "Tabby!" he called and the house elf appeared at the spot.

"Yes, Master", Tabby said. "What does Master want Tabby to do?"

"I'll eat out today", Blaise said. "Serve the dinner only for one."

Tabby nodded slowly, not eagerly at all. She liked to cook for three but since Maria wasn't living at the manor anymore she had to learn how to cook only for two. But cooking for one… Oh, how she disliked it.

"Anything else, Master?" Tabby asked uneasily.

"No. That was all, Tabby", Blaise said and the house elf disapparated from the hall. Blaise sighed and looked at Ven who hadn't moved an inch but was still glaring at his father. Blaise turned his eyes away.

Ven huffed and left to his room. This was going to be a long month.


	12. Chapter 12 Returning to School

Chapter 2. Returning to School

The week had gone quickly. Toby had gotten a collection of Quidditch related things, mostly books and figures, for his birthday. Not to mention that he had completely fallen in love with the rectangular object Alistair called an iPad. Alistair had been forced to play Quidditch with Toby's several cousins and he had found himself amazingly poor at being a chaser.

"Maybe you're not a chaser type", Toby had said and passed the beater's bat to Alistair.

That had been a bad move to make.

"Keeper!" Iris had shrieked after Diana had fixed her broken nose. "Make him a keeper!"

After returning home Alistair had spent the rest of the summer by doing the homework professors had assigned, and before he could even imagine he was once again sitting in the red train that would take him to Hogwarts. Toby had joined him and soon after the train had started moving. A girl with familiar grey-green eyes rushed in their compartment.

"There you are!" Layla exclaimed. She looked like her usual self except a little taller and tanned. She grinned. "Chas, I found them!" she yelled to the train corridor.

Chastity came running in. She took a seat next to Toby, sitting opposite to Layla. "Hello, boys!" she chirped. "Had a good summer?"

They talked about their holidays. Layla had been in Portugal with her parents. Chastity instead had been helping her father at the Daily Prophet. Alistair and Toby left out the broken windows from their story when they mentioned playing Quidditch.

"So, that's your broom?" Chastity asked when she pointed at broom handle on the shelf. Toby grinned proudly.

"Nimbus X7", he said as he took the broom down and held it in front of the girls. "Last year's model but pretty amazing to fly with."

Layla couldn't believe her eyes. She was actually shining.

"Can I... Can I touch it?" she asked. Toby nodded and gave it to Layla for a closer looking. "Must be amazing to fly on it", she whispered in awe. "Such perfectly balanced model… Durable but dainty shape for a Nimbus… It doesn't even weight so much when compared to X5." Layla quickly collected herself and handed the broom back. "Umm, what I meant was you better try to get to the team", she said.

"You bet I'll try", Toby snorted.

* * *

October ended and September followed. In the morning of the first of September Ven was brought to the King's Cross Station by Tabby since Blaise hadn't been at the manor in last two days. Ven joined first the Slytherin prefect Jonathon Fort and later when Albus and Scorpius arrived he get on the train with them. Albus, like Ven, was more than happy that the summer was over.

"Are you trying for the Quidditch team this year?" Albus asked while reading _Quidditch Through the Ages _which he had gotten as a birthday present from his parents. "Because I'm not", he said and closed the book.

"You're not?" Scorpius asked, a little baffled. "Why not?"

"I prefer watching it than actually playing it", Albus said with a grin. "Much less painful. Last year James got a bludger to his elbow and he spent two days his hand tied until his bones had healed properly." He snickered. "But are you? Zabini?" he asked.

"I haven't decided yet", Ven said and shrugged. Actually Ven hadn't really even considered ever playing Quidditch. He wasn't a bad flyer, though never as good as Albus or Tony Turner from Gryffindor. Maybe he should give the game a try. After all, he was more than sure Darius would try to get into the team.

"What about you Scorp?" Albus asked. "Your dad was a seeker, wasn't he?"

"He was. For few years", Scorpius admitted. "I'm not very fond of brooms. I do have one though. My father's old", he added as an afterthought. "But I never fly it."

* * *

"Look, Ion's there!" Toby whispered and Alistair gazed at the group of new first year students who were waiting to be sorted. Mary, William, and Jeremiah had joined the other second year Hufflepuffs at the Great Hall soon after arriving.

"He's nervous", Alistair said with a smile when he finally spotted Ion. "I can tell." He remembered his own sorting a year ago and how he had almost tripped on his way to the stool because he had been trembling so much. Last year Professor Blishwick had been the one calling students to try the Hat on in front of the all school but this year it was Professor Norwood's turn.

"Lisbeth Ashram!" Professor Norwood, the Head of the Gryffindor House, called. A rat faced girl with coarse coal black hair sat on the stool and placed the Sorting Hat on her head.

"SLYTHERIN!" the Hat announced and the girl ran to the Slytherin table where students were clapping their hands. Melinda Batterson was a Gryffindor and Todd Burke became the second new Slytherin, immediately followed by Evanna Cringe.

"Ion Diggle!"

"Ion's gonna be in Ravenclaw", Toby said and leaned to his hands a knowing smile curling his lips into a smirk. Layla rolled her eyes and tried to explain Toby it was impossible to know for sure which house he was going to get into but Toby just smirked.

The Hat took its time before it finally exclaimed: "RAVENCLAW!"

"What did I just say?" Toby hummed. Layla huffed at the comment and preferred focusing on the ongoing sorting. Jackson Dockery was the first new Hufflepuff of the year, soon followed by Olivia Gaffney and Alice Halloway.

"Kevin Hartworth!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Ileana Hawley!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Joshua Lovett became a Ravenclaw and Toby was already getting hungry and annoyed. There were more young witches and wizards than in few past years which made the Sorting Ceremony longer than usually. It was a sign that Voldemort was really gone and things had been getting back to their normal, peaceful rhythm. People weren't afraid to lose their children to the war anymore.

"Elliot Snippet!" Professor Norwood called and once again yet another eleven year old went to the stool to know which House one would belong.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat declared and the blonde boy joined the Hufflepuff table and sat next to Wilona Willopun, the Hufflepuff prefect.

Finally there was only one girl standing. Professor Norwood looked at the parchment and Alistair was sure he saw the professor's smile widening.

"Roxanne Weasley!" the professor called and the dark skinned girl redhead who had patiently waited for her turn while the other children – 47 of them – had been sorted. She ran, not very gracefully though, to the stool. She put the Hat on her head and crossed her arms.

"Just say I belong in Gryffindor", she huffed loudly so at least the half of the students in the Hall heard her. And that's what the Hat indeed did. Roxanne Weasley went to sit on a Gryffindor table, getting the loudest applauds of the whole evening. The Feast appeared like it had done the year before, granting the professors and students with several sorts of delicacies.

"Oh Merlin, I've missed this!" Toby exclaimed. Not a single Hufflepuff disagreed with him.

* * *

Ven frowned. He hadn't been interested in the Sorting. Instead he had noticed that Professor Sinistra, who had taught them Astronomy last year, wasn't sitting with the other teachers. No one else in his table seemed not to notice her absence. Everyone was so concentrated on the ceremony. Albus huffed when Roxanne Weasley got the applauses from the Gryffindors.

"Is she your cousin, too?" Scorpius asked Albus.

Albus nodded. "Indeed she is", he told with a sigh. "Her brother is the Gryffindor team's beater. She's a pain in the arse. Not as bad as her brother, or James, but still…"

"You have a lot of cousins", Scorpius said with a warm smile, ignoring the tone Albus was using when he mentioned any member of his family. "How many brothers does your mother have?" Scorpius asked.

"Well, there's Ron who's Rosie's dad, and George who owns the Joke shop in Diagon Alley, and then there's Bill and Percy", Albus said, counting his various uncles. "And Charlie who lives in Romania and..." He silenced for few seconds. "And then there would be Fred."

"The one who died?" Scorpius asked hesitantly.

Albus nodded. "Yeah", he said. "It's too bad I never get to know him." Then Albus smiled warmly. "But let's not talk about my family, please", he said. "Let's eat!"

Ven couldn't find his appetite albeit Albus and Scorpius next to him ate like they hadn't seen food in whole summer. The Feast was over rather quickly and the Headmistress Ambrosine Blanchard stood up for the welcoming speech and announcements which were mostly same as the once last year: students weren't allowed to go to the forest, and using magic at the corridors was forbidden. But what caught Ven's attention was neither of those.

"Our long-term Astronomy Professor, Aurora Sinistra, has decided to remain on her well-deserved holiday and so the Astronomy lessons are temporarily cancelled", the Headmistress said. "We'll inform when the lessons start again."

Even Darius looked baffled. "Does that mean I did that essay of lunar phase for nothing?" he groaned. "I can't believe it…"

"You would have to return that essay eventually", Scorpius said.

"Shouldn't they find a replacement for her?" Albus asked. "Can't be that hard to find someone who can tell us about stars and stuff." He leaned on Scorpius' shoulder and yawned. "It's not like finding someone to teach us Defence", he said.


	13. Chapter 13 Skirmish

Chapter 3. Skirmish in the House of Loyal

During the second week of September the Quidditch try-outs were held. Alistair who after his previous try to play Quidditch hadn't even considered trying, William who naturally preferred football, and Jeremiah who just wasn't interested enough had made Toby the only second year Hufflepuff to try for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. It was close to the curfew and the three Hufflepuffs were chatting in their dorm.

Alistair startled when Toby came in, stomping furiously and huffing in frustration. Alistair had never seen his best friend so angry. Toby threw his broom on his bed.

"They made me a reserve player!" he barked and began changing his clothes. "A reserve player!"

"That's not necessarily a bad thing", Jeremiah said calmly with a nonchalant shrug. "Reserve players usually get to the team after a year."

That was the wrong thing to say. Toby turned to face Jeremiah, a mad rage gleaming in his eyes. He was very touchy when it came to Quidditch.

"What do you know about Quidditch anyway, JP?!" Toby shouted, completely enraged. "You and your fat arse don't even fit the broom!"

Alistair gasped and raised automatically his hand to hide his gaping mouth. William had in such state of shock dropped his sketchbook and was staring at Toby and Jeremiah. That had been low blow. Jeremiah stared at Toby his eyes wide open like trying to find something to rely on but there was nothing. The colour drained from his face.

"What...?" he whispered. "What did you just say to me?"

"You heard me", Toby hissed menacingly through his teeth and crossed his arms. Jeremiah stood up clumsily and ran from the dorm room.

"JP!" William called after Jeremiah before running after his best mate. Jeremiah was by no means fat, only a little pudgy. He had a round face and plump cheeks and he was also short which usually highlighted his chubbiness. And he hated it. Toby had hit a sore spot. Alistair glanced at Toby.

"That was inappropriate", he said. He didn't want to anger his friend any further but that was the truth. Toby just huffed at him and turned his eyes away from the blonde. Alistair looked as Toby went to his bed and closed the curtains. Alistair sighed as he noticed Toby wouldn't say anything to him and went instead to look for Jeremiah and William. They were easily found in the common room corner with Chastity.

"I hate him", Jeremiah sniffed and wiped his nose.

"No, you don't", Chastity said half-cheerfully and held her arm around Jeremiah. "He didn't mean it", she continued. "Toby was a prat and he wasn't thinking. But he'll come over. He's your friend."

Jeremiah nodded and leaned on Chastity. Alistair truly hoped Toby would apologize soon.

* * *

In the Slytherin dungeons the atmosphere was completely different than in the Hufflepuff basement. Darius had been chosen to replace Vance Rhodes as the Slytherin team's keeper and he had let everyone in the common room hear about it. Many Slytherins had remarked that Darius was rather small to become a Keeper, though he was almost a feet taller than Scorpius. Marcel Ferguson, a Slytherin year older than them who played in the team as a chaser, was instead very contented of the choice.

"Rhodes wasn't a bad player", he said, crossing his hands behind his neck. "He flew well, the hoops were safe behind his back. But otherwise he wasn't a _team player_. Flint instead is."

Ven hadn't bothered to try for the team. He knew Rhodes had been the only seventh year player in team and Darius had been a safe choice to replace him no matter what some students said. Darius knew all the team members, he had flown all his life, and his parents had played Quidditch in Hogwarts and his father was later chosen to English National Quidditch team. Ven smirked. Whatever if he didn't have years' worth earlier experience. Next year there would still be two chaser places open and Ven had already decided he would give it a try.

"This year is all about Quidditch, isn't it?" Albus said to Ven in the evening. Darius was still in the common room so the dorm room was occupied only by Albus and Ven. Scorpius instead had been at the library for hours, and that that didn't worry Albus at all – it was completely natural for the blonde to stay at the library – but the young Potter was getting truly annoyed when he had no one to talk to except Ven. And Ven wasn't feeling very talkative.

"I guess it is", Ven replied, leaning to his bedpost and trying to continue his essay in peace.

"Darius is in the team, James is in the team", Albus ranted. "Soon they'll announce Clayton is in the team, too!"

Ven grimaced. Even the thought of their caretaker Murphy Clayton flying a broom was ridiculous. Clayton was an elder man with crooked back, bad teeth, and a very few fair and no one even knew was he a wizard or not. He had replaced the former caretaker Argus Filch in the beginning of the 21st century when the latter had gotten married to Irma Pince, the former librarian of Hogwarts.

"…and then they'll announce Clayton will play seeker for Gryffindor and they'll win the Quidditch Cup and House Cup and eternal glory…"

Ven rolled his eyes. "If that happens Professor Blishwick starts wearing miniskirts", he said dead-seriously, making Albus burst in laughter. "Or Miss Page will eat chocolate in the library", he continued.

"Chocolate in the library?" Scorpius repeated in shocked tone when he returned to the dorm. He, as much as Librarian Page, hated seeing stains in the books. "That's just wrong", he said with a frown.

"I know", Ven said with a smile, seeing the pile of books Scorpius was carrying. It was a sure sign that the school year had really began as Scorpius was determined to keep up his standards as a first-rate student. Odesta Page was Hogwarts' new librarian. She was sickly thin, middle-aged woman who liked Scorpius a lot, mostly because he never returned a single book late and they shared a common interest in studying.

"Hey, Scorp! Scorp! Guess what?" Albus said, still laughing while Scorpius laid the books on his bed. Scorpius cocked his brow questioningly.

"Yes?" he asked as Albus grinned from an ear to ear.

"Professor Blishwick… in a miniskirt!" Albus exclaimed and laughed even louder.

Scorpius' lips twitched. He tried not to smile, and finally his composure cracked and he let out an uncontrollable burst of giggles. "Now I'm seeing it in my head!" he wailed, hiding his eyes. "She has such ugly knees!"

* * *

As the week continued Toby hadn't been feeling very forthcoming. He hadn't speak a word to any of his dorm mates in two days and that made Jeremiah even more miserable than before as he was sure Toby hated him. Toby even worked with Leonard Yale in herbology even though he usually partnered with Layla and Jeremiah and preferred hanging around with Timothy Finch-Fletchley instead of his fellow Hufflepuffs. Layla, who had been very patient in this case and had trusted that Toby would grew a backbone and apologize, was becoming very frustrated by Toby's attitude.

"I can't believe he could act like that", Layla groaned after especially long potions lesson. She still worked with Toby in Potions and Charms even though he hadn't been the easiest working partner. "He didn't even mention our draught was going to boil over", she told glumly.

"It's alright", Mary said reassuringly. "Maybe he didn't even notice it."

"Of course he noticed!" Chastity who had been siding with Jeremiah through the week spat venomously. "He's just being a git! If he doesn't say he's sorry I think I'll hex him! And badly!"

"Toby can be stubborn but he doesn't need to be hexed", Alistair said, defending once again his friend from Chastity. The girl gritted her teeth and snarled.

"I've just learned a new one", she hissed when a group of Ravenclaws passed them in front of the library. "And even Corner's been acting all goody two-shoes", she added. "My wand-hand is tingling…"

"Don't hex anyone", William warned a slight resentfulness audible in his tone. Chastity snarled at him. She, too, like every one of them, knew William was feeling low when Jeremiah – his best friend from the day one at Hogwarts – wasn't around but it didn't mean she liked to be told what to do and what to do not. And she had been especially testy during the last days.

"Don't you tell me what to do!" she hissed.

"It was a piece of advice", William hissed back.

"Well, I don't need your advice!" Chastity shrieked. She stormed to opposite direction than others, and Mary, unsure of what to do, followed her to the direction of their common room. William huffed and shook his head.

"I go to library", he said and turned back to the direction of the moving staircases. "Have a good lunch."

Alistair was left with only Layla who looked like she was about to cry. He gave sad smile and patted her back, comforting his friend who was already sniffling.

"It's okay", he said. "It's okay…"

_"You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,_

_And unafraid of toil…"_

Layla burst into silent tears. Their inseparable group of Hufflepuffs was nothing but falling apart.


	14. Chapter 14 Discord Fixed

Chapter 4. Discord Fixed

It was still rather hot although summer had turned to autumn and the weather had cooled down from what it had been but the climate in Greenhouse 1 was still nothing less than sweaty. It was actually a Potions lesson but since Professor Blishwick wanted to give them more practical education when it came to gathering potion ingredients after Darius and Albus had accidentally aimed badly in class and set the ingredient cupboard on fire the students had been sent to the Greenhouses to help Professor Longbottom. This special treatment affected only Slytherins and Gryffindors, respectively.

"Since we have already discoursed about the Spiky Bushes last year", Professor Longbottom started. "I trust you to thin them out. Only three students to one table, and be very careful with the spikes. You need to collect them."

As the four Slytherin boys were all in different tables Ven was sharing the plant with two Gryffindors. Gennifer Parker, the girl with rosy cheeks and auburn hair on a low ponytail, stared at the plant intently, a wand ready on her left hand and a pair of garden shears on her right. The boy, Tony Turner, instead chewed bubblegum and looked more interested in asphodels.

Ven glanced on the other side of the Greenhouse where Scorpius was working with Leonard Yale and Albus' cousin, Rose. They hadn't started yet.

"Hey, you", Gennifer glanced at Ven and hissed, crouching towards the plant. "Hey, Slytherin."

"Zabini", Ven corrected, hissing as well. As if the Gryffindor didn't remember his name. They had partnered in Potions several times during the last year.

"Yeah, right, whatever", Gennifer said dismissingly. "Take that basket. I'll start cutting and need someone to collect the spikes."

"Are you commanding me?" Ven snarled but took the basket from the side table anyway. Gennifer huffed, getting annoyed.

"No, I'm telling you what to do, there's a difference", she said. "Now, watch out."

Gennifer raised the shears and slowly moved them closer to the plant and cut down a sprig. Several spikes flung from the bush as it tried to retaliate to its attacker. Gennifer quickly ducked under the table when that happened. Tony instead had gotten on the spikes way and one had hit his shoulder. He let out an angry, and anguished, cry.

"You did that on purpose!" Tony shouted, turning to Gennifer who crawled up from the floor. She pulled the spike out from Tony's shoulder and rolled her eyes.

"Why would I have made the bush shot its spikes towards you?" she asked and held the removed spike threateningly. "That wouldn't help me anyway, you lazy idiot!"

"Well, I don't know what's going on in that ginger head of yours!" Tony spat. There was another anguished cry from him as Gennifer kicked his shin.

Ven groaned. Wasn't that just what he needed? Two arguing Gryffindors when they were supposed to work. He hoped the others were having a better luck.

* * *

Hufflepuffs had to partner with Ravenclaws every time when Professor Blishwick was feeling especially annoyed but this time everyone knew why – his own House, Slytherins, had screwed up. Alistair had been lucky when the professor had chosen Claude to be his working partner. Chastity's brother was even easier than his sister to work with if you got him to talk. The other Ravenclaws weren't as easy – William was paired with Eliza Redmond who was snobby and squeamish and knew absolutely nothing about brewing. Toby instead was working with Leon Flannery and right in front of him sat Jeremiah with Emmett Darcy.

There was a knock on the door. There was a fifth year Slytherin girl and deducing from the pile of books she was carrying it was about her upcoming O.W.L.s. Professor Blishwick went into the corridor outside the class to talk with her, leaving the students without a teacher for a while. She was expecting her students to handle such simple fever lowering draught without her constant attendance. Of course, right after she closed the door things were supposed to get out the hand.

"Aww, come on. Chop chop, fatty", Emmett crooned, leaning on his arm as he watched Jeremiah chopping roots for their draught.

"Don't call me that", Jeremiah said quietly but continued chopping anyway.

"Call you what?" Emmett asked, faking innocence and pouting. "_Fatty_?"

That was when the unexpected happened. Toby had had enough of having a quarrel with his friends. And even more he hated the Ravenclaw making fun of his friend. He stood up, garnering all the attention in the class.

"Dare to repeat that!" Toby barked, taking his wand from the table and pointing it at Emmett. "Come on, Darcy", he cooed. "Insult my friend again and I swear to Merlin I'll curse you!"

Jeremiah looked surprised and delighted of Toby's sudden outburst. Emmett instead grimaced.

"Big words from a loser who didn't get into the team", he snarled and stood up as well, pointing his wand at Toby. "If you can't even fly well enough why would I be scared about you cursing me?"

"Scared to try out?" Toby snarled and ignored the fact that even Emmett knew he wasn't in the team.

Emmett glared at Toby, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Rictusempra!" he shouted, firing the curse. Toby barely managed to duck the spell.

"Expulso!" Toby fired back, hitting Emmett and Jeremiah's cauldron and making the half-finished draught to splatter all over the class. The draught hit also Luke Corner who had sat in front of Emmett. He would also been willing to take part in the duel but Chastity stopped him from even trying.

"Flipendo!" Toby yelled and Emmett fell on his back. Toby raised his wand and tried to remember any useful hex or jinx to make Emmett pay. He cursed the fact he hadn't been listening Chastity more carefully. Toby had kept his wand raised but it soon flew to the floor. Professor Blishwick had come back, and she didn't look happy. Well, she never looked happy but this time she looked completely murderous.

"Darcy! Jones! This isn't a defence class!" she shrieked as she pocketed her wand. "I do not tolerate fighting during my lessons!"

Emmett crawled up and grimaced. "It was Jones", he tried but Blishwick couldn't care less about which one of them had started the fight. She gritted her teeth and glared at the two boys.

"Detention", she hissed as Toby retrieved his wand from the floor. "For both of you. And fifty points away from your houses." She huffed and marched to her desk. "See me after the class."

Emmett glared at Toby and muttered something incoherent under his breath. Toby smirked as he sat back down on his seat. At least he had proved himself to be the better dueller.

Jeremiah looked at him over his shoulder and smiled. "Thanks", he whispered, talking to Toby for the first time willingly in almost three weeks.

On the other side of the class Alistair smiled as well as he saw a wide grin lighting up Toby's face. Why to care about draught covered robes if you got your friend back?

* * *

"Did you know that Spiky Bushes can produce over 300 new spikes daily?" Scorpius asked at the lunch. "And the biggest bushes can shoot the spikes even 20 feet away from itself and kill a human. I heard it from Rose. Why don't we have Herbology with Gryffindors?" he asked with a sigh. "I'm actually better than average student in Herbology. And she still beats me in every test."

"You _let_ her beat you", Ven corrected. "That's why you're always just the second best."

"I'm not just the second best!" Scorpius argued, suddenly ashamed. "I'm…! I'm completely confident being the second best! I mean… No! I just need to study harder because next year we're going to have elective classes as well! Like… Arithmancy! And get good grades and try to keep up!"

Darius whistled. "You're not making any sense, mate", he said. "Maybe you should take studying a little easier?"

"No!" Scorpius shouted. "No, that's ridiculous! I can't take studying a little easier! I have to…!"

"Scorpius, please, can you be silent for a while, I'm having a headache", Albus mumbled and sat down next to Darius. "And I want to eat but I can't because talking about school makes me lose my appetite…"

"Where have you been?" Ven asked, raising his brows. Albus had been missing since the Potions lesson with Professor Longbottom in the morning and had missed the Charms lesson before the lunch.

Albus began gathering up potatoes to his plate. "I was in the hospital wing because I got hit by a flower pot", he said with a grimace. "Miss Perks didn't let me out earlier."

"How exactly did you get hit by the pot?" Ven asked, smirking only slightly.

"I don't wanna talk about it", Albus hissed and his ears gained a bright shade of red.

Ven understood to not push the subject further and the four boys ate in the silence. It was Darius who brought out the upcoming Halloween Feast later in Professor Binns' class.

"It'll be in few weeks", he said eagerly. Last year the Halloween Feast had been the highlight of the term. "They'll have gigantic pumpkin pies!"


	15. Chapter 15 Ganymedes Dogwood

Chapter 5. Ganymedes Dogwood

Toby and Jeremiah, as well as William and Chastity, were no longer having a quarrel and the things were running more smoothly for the Hufflepuffs. Though Chastity had used in a spur of moment _Colovaria_, the charm they had learnt from Professor Flitwick, on William as an attack before they had been able to talk normally to one another again. William had insisted keeping the red hair to annoy Chastity, no matter how many times the others asked if he really wanted to keep it or not. Chastity though seemed to quickly become fond to the colour.

It was the night of the All Hallows Eve and so the time for the Halloween Feast and young Hufflepuffs were very excited. The last year's feast had been worth seeing with all the living bats flying in the Hall and the giant pumpkins glowing eerily from candlelight while the silvery ghosts came to visit them from all around the school. Not to mention the food had been absolutely delicious. It's not that it usually wasn't but at Halloween, everything seems to be just perfect.

"Were being late!" Layla wailed as she ran up the stairs towards the Great Hall were the Feast was held. She didn't want to miss the desserts. Toby and Alistair followed her lead.

The storm was raging outside the castle walls. Just before Layla, Toby, and Alistair reached the Great Hall they were able to see the gamekeeper Hagrid opening the castle doors and marching in from the downpour. He looked ridiculous with his soaking wet, tangled beard and in his furry coat and dragon leather boots. The Hufflepuffs had to move away from his way, the man was too busy to notice them at the moment.

Behind Hagrid walked a man in a black travelling cloak they hadn't seen before. He had hidden most of his face by a hood but young he was, that much Alistair could tell. And he was limping badly which was making his try to keep up with Hagrid almost impossible. The Hufflepuffs followed them in the Great Hall and sat down on their table where students had started noticing that something was happening. Something that had nothing to do with the Halloween Feast.

"What's going on?" Chastity asked when Layla took a seat next to her.

Too bad they didn't know.

* * *

"Who's that guy with Hagrid?" Albus asked curiously and tried to stretch himself to see better.

Neither Ven nor Scorpius answered him because Jonathon Fort was shushing at everyone in their table who was trying to say anything. The Slytherins watched as Hagrid marched straight to the table where the professors sat. Headmistress Ambrosine Blanchard stood up and was about to speak.

"Claims to be Ganymedes Dogwood", Hagrid said before the Headmistress had a chance to say anything and beckoned at the man. "An' I will prove it if ye not believe me. I remember ev'ry student I've taught in last twenty years!"

"Yes, Hagrid", Blanchard said calmly. "This situation has..."

"Head boy Dogwood, I coul' recognize him anywhere!" Hagrid continued babbling, not really listening the headmistress. "Walked here throug' the forest in the storm and I recognized him though he looks like a drowned cat, that Dogwood!" he announced.

The man lowered his head in embarrassment. Perhaps being compared to a cat didn't fit him whilst the name _Dogwood._

"Enough, Hagrid!" Headmistress said firmly. "Mr Dogwood, we've been expecting you. If you would follow me. Imelda, would you...?"

"Of course, Ambrosine", Professor Blishwick said, sounding for once like a decent human being. She exited the Great Hall with the Headmistress and the man they called Dogwood, leaving baffled Hagrid with the appalled students to wait for some sort of conclusion.

"Expected?!" Hagrid bellowed, looking around for a clue. "What ye mean 'expected'?"

"Keep it down, Hagrid", Professor Norwood said and stood up nervously. "And let the Feast continue!" he exclaimed, breaking the tension in the Hall. The students hesitantly returned to enjoying the Feast but Dogwood became the night's most discussed topic even though no one actually knew the reason for his sudden appearing.

* * *

At the breakfast next day Dogwood looked like a completely different person. The man who sat at the teachers' table looked nothing like a drowned cat. The worn travelling cloak was long gone and instead he was wearing clean, night blue wizard's robe with bronze embroidery – the colours of the Ravenclaw House. And now, when he wasn't hiding his face under the hood like he had been earlier he actually looked very young, just like Alistair had thought. He couldn't be any older than 25. His pointed features were framed by sleek dark brown hair and he had calculating ice blue eyes. He smiled a little and stared intently at the students, no one in particular, but it made cold vibes go up Alistair's spine.

"Professor Sinistra has informed the school of her retirement", Headmistress Blanchard started her speech, taking the students completely by surprise. "And we value her decision", she continued, silencing the sprouting conversations. "However, she had chosen herself a successor so let's welcome our new Astronomy Professor Ganymedes Dogwood to our school."

Professor Dogwood waved lightly and smiled at his new students who gave him applauses, still exchanging confused glances between one another.

Blanchard clinked on her glass repeatedly, silencing the students once more. "And as for the rest of the term there will be extra lessons in Astronomy for first, second, and third year students..."

Chastity, who was sitting next to Alistair, sighed dreamily and stopped listening Headmistress Blanchard. Instead her eyes wandered to their new professor.

"He's beautiful", she whispered. Layla nodded, sighing as well. Alistair could see they weren't the only ones in the Hall falling under Professor Dogwood's charms. Most girls were blushing furiously and either giggling madly or sighing repeatedly.

Toby snorted, rolling his eyes at Layla's unusual behaviour. "He doesn't look anything special", he scoffed. "Just because he appears out of nowhere..."

"SHH!" Chastity hissed at Toby before falling back to her peaceful staring. Toby muttered under his breath about girls being weird and Alistair couldn't help but agree.

* * *

The Slytherin girls were as affected as their Hufflepuff counterparts. Acacia Rosier was leaning on her hands and smiling goofily as she stared at their new professor. Lucinda Cross wasn't any better. She was whispering with Varvara Rycroft, the third year Slytherin girl, and Ven repeatedly heard words he preferred not to hear mentioned when talking about a professor.

"They can't seriously be crushing on him!" Albus snorted, finding the situation both awkward and sickening as he looked at the teachers' table where the newest professor was chatting with Blishwick.

Ven shrugged nonchalantly. "They are girls", he said simply. "What were you expecting?"

"I dunno! Something!" Albus said. He swatted Scorpius' shoulder. "Scorp, are you listening to us?" he asked.

Scorpius twitched at the sudden contact. "Oh, what? Yes!" he said quickly and tore his eyes away from the Gryffindor table. "What were you saying?"

Albus and Ven shared an equally confused looks. Scorpius – Scorpius of all people! – hadn't been paying attention on what they were discussing about. The blonde had been acting weirdly for quite some time but he had just recently starting to get more suspicious in Ven's eyes.

"Are you okay?" Ven asked Scorpius when they left the Hall to go to the term's first Charms class. The other boy shrugged.

"I guess", Scorpius said uneasily. "Have you done your essay of colour changing charms?" he asked, swiftly changing the topic between them. "Professor Flitwick is expecting us to return them tomorrow. I hope Albus has done his or else he'll just copy mine…"

_You can never trust in a Slytherin completely. Especially not when they come from certain families…_

Ven nodded slowly and gritted his teeth. Perhaps he should keep a little closer look on his friend.


	16. Chapter 16 November

Chapter 6. November

The arriving of mysterious Professor Dogwood hadn't been forgotten even though the Halloween Feast was over and done with. He was still there, and especially the female population of Hogwarts students kept on whispering about him. But as the ground had frozen all over and the warmth of summer was gone at last the Quidditch season started and for a moment there were more important matters than the new professor.

Couple weeks ago in when the first Quidditch match of the term had been held Gryffindors had literally slaughtered Slytherins at the last minute. Beater Faye Leeming had knocked the Slytherin Seeker Atticus Tourris of his broom and ensured Gryffindor's victory.

Students had gathered to the stands once again, this time to see the match between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Toby wasn't even depressed anymore of his role as a reserve chaser. He was going to try to get into the team next year again.

"Looks like the Hufflepuff team has gone through some changes after Captain Rebecca Bennett and Seeker Rosalinda Moore graduated last year", Kelly Nawthorn said when the Hufflepuff team walked to the pitch. "This year's Captain seems to be Timothy Finch-Fletchley who seems to have also changed his position! He's taking over Bennett as a Keeper! As a Seeker Hufflepuffs' have Warden Leech and as their new Chaser they have Bree Scott who has played as a reserve for two years." Nawthorn laughed. "Who could forget her show in last March when she stood in for Ezer!"

There was loud booing from the stands where Slytherins sat. It was clear they could've been perfectly fine if Scott had been beat to the pulp and she would have to stay in the hospital wing for the rest of her school days. In last March she had been replacing Angharad Ezer in the match against Slytherins and she had made four goals before the beaters had gotten her down. Her nose had become permanently crooked to the left side but she couldn't care less.

"Quite a few changes have been made in the Ravenclaw side of the field, too", Nawthorn said eagerly when she mentioned her own House. "Both beaters are new, Hacklebeck and Gartner have been replaced by Rashid Patil and Ravenna Quirke, and Courtney Sleed has returned to their ranks as a chaser after her O.W.L.s year." Ravenclaws on the stands whistled and applauded. "Oh, and let's not forget they have another new chaser, too. Emmett Darcy on his second year but has chosen to replace Andrew Moon. Maybe that'll raise Ravenclaws up from the last year's fourth place."

Toby snorted. "They took Darcy in the team?" he scoffed. "I expected _Ravenclaws_ to be smarter than that but I guess I was wrong."

"Next year they'll probably take Corner to the team as well", Chastity joked.

The jokes went on Hufflepuffs when Ravenclaw's Seeker, the fourth year student Dorian Cornfoot, caught the Snitch directly in front of Warden Leech. Ravenclaws had left the pitch cheering. Mary patted Layla's shoulder – that was what she did when she noticed someone needed comforting – and Layla leaned to her touch and sniffed.

"We were so close", Layla wailed. She hated losing as much as Toby who had marched away from the stands at the moment when Cornfoot raised his hand to show he had the Snitch.

"We can still win the Cup", Alistair said. "This was just one game."

But their next game would be against Gryffindor in February, and until then the new line-up would need a lot of practicing.

* * *

The weeks had continued to pass but Astronomy lessons didn't start. Albus was annoyed because after two first Quidditch games the babbling about the new professor had began again, even though Dogwood had been at Hogwarts for over a month. The young Potter had reached the point when he was ready to go ask Hagrid if he had some insider information about the new professor that the gamekeeper would maybe share with them. Albus was sure there had to be something weird about the professor – he was Harry Potter's son, and what he had heard from his father and Uncle Ron the new professors were always a little suspicious – and as Ven and Scorpius had agreed with him the three Slytherins treaded through the yard to Hagrid's hut in one cool November afternoon. The half-giant gladly asked them even to stay for the dinner.

"What do you know anything about Professor Dogwood?" Albus asked bluntly, sitting on the grass after a moment of lively chatting. Scorpius, who had been petting Fang Jr, glanced at his friend like he was completely bonkers. He was sure than even Hagrid wouldn't be stupid enough to tell three second year students if there even was anything worth telling.

"I know plenty", Hagrid told, surprising them positively. "He was the Head boy, few years back", he said, stroking his greying beard. "Liked my class and helped with Thestrals." Hagrid turned the chicken over the fire. "But I never thoug't he would try for a professor. Never", he said firmly. "Or not for Astronomy at least. Sinistra liked the kid, though he was more fascinated by dark creatures, that Dogwood."

"Dark creatures?" Albus repeated curiously. "Like what? Werewolves? Vampires?"

"Yer asking too many questions, Al", Hagrid said firmly. "Sound like yer dad. Leave Dogwood alone. He's done nothin' wrong."

Albus glanced at Scorpius and Ven. Scorpius shrugged. This wasn't really helping them anyway. Even though if the professor liked dark creatures that didn't mean he was evil but it didn't explain why the lessons hadn't begun, either.

"But he liked dark creatures?" Albus tried. "That's what you said, right?"

"Could you be more specific?" Scorpius asked. "What kind of dark creatures was he especially interested in?"

"Enough of that already!" Hagrid said and accidentally dropped the chicken on the hot coals. After realizing that he and tried to safe what was worth saving of their dinner. Fang Jr barked eagerly and Hagrid drove Albus, Scorpius and Ven out of his yard and told them to come back later. With no more questions about Professor Dogwood.

"Brilliant", Ven snarled on their way back to the castle doors.

"Can't your dad borrow us a book about dark creatures, Scorp?" Albus asked, irritated because visiting Hagrid hadn't helped them at all. "Maybe we could find out something."

"He can't", Scorpius stated. "He's not in the country right now." Albus opened his mouth but shut it and looked confused instead. Scorpius groaned. "My parents went to France to see my grandmother", he told patiently. "They're not coming back till New Year. That's why I'll spend Christmas at Hogwarts. You haven't been listening to me again. Next time…"

"We could talk to some upper class student", Ven cut in. "Sixth or seventh year Ravenclaw would be the best choice."

Albus nodded, looking at his friends. "Tomorrow."

* * *

Though the Hufflepuff's defeat against the Ravenclaw was still in the fresh memory the school work had to be done no matter how low they were feeling. Professor Prosper had taught them several new jinxes and charms like _Vermillious_ and _Verdillious_ which Chastity found especially fascinating during the Potions lesson when he was once again paired up with Luke Corner.

"What did you get from the question 7?" Layla asked during the lunch after they had had a surprise test in Defence. "About that hag who turned herself into the beautiful girl and married a king?"

"I skipped that part", Toby said with a shrug. He was getting tired of talking about the test.

"I got Malodora Grymm", Mary said unsurely. "But I can't be sure was it a right answer. I think Professor Prosper had mentioned her when we discussed about medieval hags."

Alistair smiled. "I got Grymm, too", he said. Mary flushed lightly and smiled as well.

"What about the question 4?" Layla asked, continuing to pester her friends. "About healing werewolf bites?"

Toby groaned. "Can we please stop talking 'bout this already?"

Layla snorted. "Of course not!"

"But you already know _you_ got full points", Toby said a hint annoyance audible in his tone. "And _we_ know you're the smartest of us. So what's the point?"

"Yeah, Lelliekins", Chastity added. "Loosen up a bit."

A frown marred Layla's face when she reluctantly agreed to stop talking about the test anymore. Instead they talked about the upcoming Christmas holidays. None of the second year Hufflepuffs was going to stay at Hogwarts – Alistair would return home to spend a family Christmas, and Toby would instead go back to Holyhead like every year. Layla said her family was once again invited to the annual Christmas dinner at Longbottoms.

"Doesn't it bother you?" Mary asked Layla. "To have a Christmas dinner with a professor?"

"Not at all!" Layla exclaimed. "Why would it when Professor Longbottom even insists that I call him Neville?" She gave a wide smile. "We have the Leaky Cauldron all for ourselves and Hannah makes the world's best Christmas pudding!"

* * *

The next day Albus, Scorpius, and Ven went to look for seventh year Ravenclaws as they had planned and from the library they found one. The Quidditch announcer, Kelly Nawthorn, raised her eyes from the Ancient Runes book and looked baffled when Albus asked her about Ganymedes Dogwood.

"Professor Dogwood?" she repeated, raising her glasses. "I was on my second year when he graduated. I don't know him very well. He didn't play Quidditch."

"But do you remember anything _weird_ about him?" Albus asked. "You know, did he read odd books or speak about dark arts or...?"

Kelly looked thoughtful for a moment. "Now that you mentioned it he was often seen talking to the ghosts", she told finally. "And he was one of the few students who actually liked Peeves." She looked at the three boys with a curious look in her eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"There're few rumours", Scorpius said.

"About him liking dark arts", Ven added. They didn't mention they had heard about that from Hagrid.

"Isn't that suspicious? Professor Sinistra retires and surprise! He just comes here and takes over her job", Albus said, crossing his arms. "After the term had already _started_. No respectful professor does _that_", he pressed, trying to get Nawthorn to agree with their theory about Dogwood being a Death Eater, or a dark wizard, or at least some sort of charlatan.

"In those rumours is as much truth as in Gilderoy Lockhart's books", Kelly said firmly and snorted. She closed her book. "I know where you're going with this but Professor Dogwood is not dangerous." With a glance at the clock she packed her belongings. "I'm sorry but I can't chat longer. I'll be late from Alchemy."

"No, thank you", Scorpius said quickly and Kelly nodded before running out the library. He turned to Albus and Ven. "What about now?" he asked.

Albus shook his head. "I don't have a clue", he sighed.


	17. Chapter 17 Astronomy Classes Begin

Chapter 7. The Astronomy Classes Begin

The Christmas holidays came and went faster than expected and the well rested students returned to Hogwarts in the beginning of January. Alistair had enjoyed his Christmas even though the Nott family hadn't been home at all. They had been visiting Ana's parents, Alistair's grandparents, in Leeds. When Ana had years ago introduced Theodore for the first time as her husband, her parents had been surprised, or mostly shocked at the time, but they had accepted him in their family after learning Ana – who was rather fiery and impulsive in her youth – wouldn't change her mind. Alistair instead was the apple of their eye because he was their only grandchild so it wasn't a surprise that Alistair returned to Hogwarts his arms full of homemade goodies and new books – few even were about his favourite subject, Herbology.

Almost all the snow had melted from the Hogwarts grounds but the biting cold returned at nights and covered the windows with frost. In one Tuesday afternoon a group of Hufflepuffs stood in front of the notice board, reading the note that Marvel Brooks, a fifth year prefect with bad teeth, had a moment ago attached on it.

_All Hufflepuff students from years one to three will share their Astronomy classes with Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin students. These combined classes will be held till the Easter Break and they contain theoretical parts during mornings and practical part during nights. Classes are in Tuesdays for second year students, in Wednesdays for first year students, and in Thursdays for third year students…_

"This is insane!" Toby exclaimed and stopped reading. "All four houses! Does Blanchard want to kill Dogwood or something?!"

"We have missed months' worth education", Layla said and smiled sweetly when Professor Dogwood was mentioned. "It's very noble from Professor Dogwood to give us extra lessons", she cooed.

"I don't even like Astronomy and it starts today!" Toby whined, looking at Alistair for support. "Why can't it be optional?" he asked.

Alistair shrugged. He liked Astronomy so he couldn't really say anything to help his friend.

"Stop being such a prat", Chastity spat and picked her brand-new Astronomy book from the common room table. Her father had given it to her as Christmas present. "It'll be for our best", she said but the blush on her cheeks clearly said it would be for _her_ best.

"Yeah, like being rounded up in a small room with lovesick girls would do any good to me", Toby muttered. He had grown tired and used to that the holiday hadn't made the girls act any different from earlier. They were still one big fan-club. Alistair couldn't understand why Toby made so big deal of it. After all, Professor Dogwood was good-looking. No one could deny that.

* * *

In the Slytherin common room Scorpius were reading a similar note. Most of the Slytherins were either having optional classes, Quidditch practises, or something else they find interesting because the common room was empty with the exception of three second year boys. Scorpius crossed his arms and frowned, glaring at the piece of parchment like he was hoping it would burn to ground. Albus slouched on the couch and cocked his head to the side, curiously looking at Scorpius.

"What is it, Scorp?" he asked hopefully. "Did someone cancel the final exams?"

Scorpius shook his head, walked to the couch and sat down. "It's about our Astronomy lessons. We don't have a theoretical class this week", he explained, making Albus' face light up. "But tonight is our practical lessons start tonight."

There was loud, and annoyed, groan from Albus but Ven didn't raise his eyes from the book he was reading. "Finally", he just snarled. Finally the famous Professor Dogwood would have to show had he earned his place in Hogwarts.

"But you don't get what's the point", Scorpius said desperately. "We will have to _share_ our Astronomy classes with other Houses." He sighed. "Why won't you for once read the information given to you?"

"Because we have you?" Albus suggested, gaining a death glare from Scorpius. "Okay, fine. What's so bad in sharing? We do that all the time."

"It's not that simple. Imagine all Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff second year students rounded up in the Astronomy Tower", Scorpius said carefully. Ven raised his eyes from the Transfiguration textbook.

"All Houses will have Astronomy at the same time?" Ven repeated. That sounded completely idiotic. There wouldn't be enough windows in the Astronomy class, not to mention putting all second year students to the same room in the middle of the night when they are tired and easily annoyed was a potentially dangerous combination. "Whose idea that was?" Ven asked and raised a brow.

Scorpius shrugged. "It has Headmistress' signature", he said. "But Professor Dogwood probably has something to do with it."

"Well, we'll see", Albus stated mischievously. He still didn't trust the newest addition in the teachers' table. There was something wrong about him and the mere change in Hogwarts' girl population's behaviour was verifying it. "You two still with me in this?" he asked, gaining a hesitant nod from Scorpius and a grin from Ven. "We'll find out his secret."

* * *

At midnight the Astronomy Tower was crammed full of people when all Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin second year students had arrived to Professor Dogwood's class. The floor was full of pillows and rugs. The nocturnal sky was bright and the crescent moon illuminated the frozen castle grounds softly. It was almost magical sight.

Professor Dogwood sat casually on the embrasure, a quill sticking up behind his ear. There were charts of stars and lunar months on the floor at his feet. It was a rather cold night but the professor didn't wear shoes. Alistair found it weird but as no one else seemed to pay attention on how cold the floors were he concentrated with the others on the professor's speech.

"Welcome", Professor Dogwood said politely. "Sit down, please. The pillows are for that." The class sat down on the pillows and rugs. "Thank you", the professor said. "As you know, I'm here replacing Professor Sinistra who decided on retiring during the summer. My name's Ganymedes Dogwood."

The students simply nodded at him. Professor hopped down the embrasure and picked up his wand from the floor where it had lay with charts and notes. "Tonight we'll concentrate on one particular star", the professor said. "Do not stand up; you'll all be able to see."

In a twinkling of an eye he performed a complex charm to turn the walls of the tower chamber transparent so all students could see outside and pointed at the star. Students picked up their telescopes, looking at the sky as the professor start speaking about the star on the Northern sky.

* * *

Ven rolled his eyes when a Ravenclaw girl raised her hand and interrupted the interesting explanation of how dense regions within molecular clouds in interstellar space collapsed to form stars. Professor Dogwood nodded at the girl.

"Yes, Miss...?"

"Redmond, professor. What does the star shining brighter mean?" she asked. Something in her tone told that she, as well as many other girls, was swooning over the professor. "Is something happening in the future?"

The professor chuckled and Ven could hear several dreamy sighs around the room.

"I teach Astronomy, Miss Redmond", Professor Dogwood replied easily. "I was simply stating a mere fact about _Stella nova_. If you want to know about predicting from the stars you can choose divination for your third year. Professor Trelawney would be delighted", Professor Dogwood said brightly. "But astronomically, when a new star is born it for a while shines brighter than the other stars..."

Professor Dogwood continued his speech but what Ven's ears picked up was disturbing chattering from his right. He glanced at the source of the noise and sneered. Of course there had to be Hufflepuffs. Of course there had to be Alistair Nott. Jones – that lousy friend of Nott – was whispering loudly to Nott. Nott instead seemed to be torn between listening to Professor Dogwood or his friend. He was seemingly trying to hide his pained expression when he missed a half of the professor's speech. Ven heard repeatedly words like 'sleeping' and 'Quidditch' and rolled his eyes at the Jones' antics and barely held back the urge to tell him to shut up and concentrate. He forced himself to not look at Nott and the other Hufflepuffs. It wasn't his problem anyway.

Professor Dogwood set to them essays due to next lesson and sent them to bed soon after Ven had collected his thoughts and started paying attention lesson. Albus was disappointed when they walked back down to Slytherin dungeons. He had done his best; he had listened carefully and watched every move Professor Dogwood made but he had found nothing out of ordinary. Either Albus had been wrong all along or…

"Maybe he's just very good in hiding his intentions?" Scorpius suggested half-heartedly. He had lost his interest in spying Dogwood, as that was what he considered Albus was doing, and had been completely in his own, private world during the lesson.

"Maybe", Albus sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He was still frustrated but the most of his disappointment had subsided and been replaced by determination. "We may have lost the battle but the war is still on!" he exclaimed.

Ven rolled his eyes and yawned. He was too tired to think about anything actually worth thinking and as soon as he got to bed he fell asleep. He could think later.


	18. Chapter 18 Valentine's Day Drama

Chapter 8. Valentine's Day Drama

January turned to February, Astronomy lessons became a routine and the students were spared from the major brawls between the Houses in everywhere else but in the Quidditch pitch. The match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw had ended in Ravenclaws loss, making the snakes to reach the current first place in the Quidditch Cup.

Of course life was more than just Quidditch in the snake pit. Albus had continued his plan but even he had found Professor Dogwood almost tolerable after few weeks of constant vigilance and the most of the Hogwarts' girl population had slowly lost their overflowing interest towards the newest addition to the Hogwarts' ranks. Instead as the Valentine's Day was approaching many boys and girls became quite nervous as they tried to find ways to express affection towards their sweethearts.

Ven had kept his eye on Scorpius for the last months and his blonde friend's behaviour had become even odder after he had received a package in a morning a week before Valentine's Day. He hadn't told even to Albus and Ven who it was from and what it contained but it had made him smile like a brainless sheep more often than it was good for Ven's sanity.

But Scorpius wasn't the only person acting weirdly. Albus hadn't given up on his 'war' against Professor Dogwood so he had decided to try getting some more information from Hagrid and had forced Ven to come with him since Scorpius and Darius had their own things to do. Of course the half-giant denied ever telling them anything about Dogwood or dark creatures and was determined to not blurt anything what was meant to be kept in secret. Instead he set Albus and Ven to pick up flowers, namely herbs that grew at the Hogwarts grounds.

"It's good ye came to help", Hagrid said when Albus placed few moonworts into a basket. The half-giant threw a stick to Fang Jr and looked at the two boys. "I'm gettin' old! My back has been aching, ye know?"

"Have you thought about retiring?" Albus asked, sitting down for moment and looking at Hagrid. "No offense, though."

Hagrid, bemused by the statement, shook his head. "Retiring?" he snorted. "Where would I go? Hogwarts is me home. There ain't place like home, ye know?"

"But weren't there that girl you liked?" Albus tried with a grin. "Dad told me about her. Madame Maxime or something? Move in with her."

"There's nothin' like that between me and Olympe", Hagrid told sternly but shrugged after a while and said: "We're friends, nothin' more."

"But is there a girl you fancy, then?" Albus asked. "Why else would we be picking these flowers?"

Hagrid blinked. "Those? They're for Imelda", Hagrid said. "For potions", he added when he noticed Albus was staring at him like he was crazy and grinning widely.

"You have a crush on Professor Blishwick!" Albus snorted, disbelieving what he had just figured out. Hagrid turned beet red and shook his hand dismissingly.

"Yer not supposed to know that!" he said in his defence and frowned. "Keep it quiet, will yeh?" he said at last.

"Sure", Albus said, still grinning. "Whatever you say."

"Good. Now shush!" Hagrid said and took the basket from Albus. "You two have helped enough."

Ven gave one last pat to Fang Jr before walking back to the castle with Albus. His friend seemed to hesitate between being disgusted and enthusiastic.

"Seriously?" Albus said and smiled disbelievingly. "Hagrid and Blishwick?"

"I suppose Professor Blishwick _has been_ pretty when she was younger", Ven stated though that had to have been very far in the past and the one saying that should have been a half-blind hippogriff. Albus just grimaced. Young and pretty Blishwick was way out of the range of his imagination.

* * *

"It's Valentine's Day!" Chastity squealed, storming into the Hufflepuff second year boys' dorm and jumping to William's bed. Layla had followed her and was almost as bright as her dark haired companion. "Come on, boys!" Chastity continued, leaving now fully awake William alone and moving to the other side of the room to poke Toby awake. "Breakfast, breakfast, breakfast!"

"Why you have to be so exited so early in the morning, Chas?" Toby groaned.

"Because it's Valentine's Day!" Chastity replied brightly.

"So get up", Layla ordered, fussing around the room and opening the curtains of Jeremiah's bed. "You too, Jeremiah."

Jeremiah turned to his other side and pulled the covers over his head. "I don't want to. I won't even get letters from anyone else than my mom."

Alistair sat up and rubbed his eyes. What made Valentine's Day so important to girls anyway? It was just another day in the year. With roses, pink glitter, and love confessions, though. Alistair sighed. He didn't even have anyone to send letters to at Hogwarts, and it was unlikely that he would receive any. He wasn't popular or even good with girls.

"We'll be waiting for you outside", Chastity cooed, pulling Layla away from the room with her. "You get five minutes and after that I'll drag your lazy arses to the Great Hall!"

* * *

Valentine's Day is utter crap was Ven's first thought when he stepped into the Great Hall. The Hall was enchanted to glow in shades of red and pink and the air was full of the scent of roses. All the tables, even the one were usually so calm and cool Slytherins sat, was surrounded by lively and awaiting atmosphere. The four Slytherin boys sat on their usual spot, eating their breakfast. Darius was already having three letters he had gotten from upper class Slytherin girls. It was part of the perks of being in the Quidditch team.

But of course he wouldn't be the only one.

"Um, hi? Albus?"

Albus, Ven, and Darius turned their eyes at the shyly smiling Gryffindor girl. She was on the same year with them – Miranda Glocksworth was her name, that much Ven remembered – and she was, too, part of the Rose's friend group. She had been one of the girls who didn't go all trilled when Professor Dogwood passed them in a corridor.

"Yes?" Albus asked and cocked a brow, encouraging the blushing girl.

"These", Miranda said uneasily, holding tightly a red box. "These are for you." She handed the box to Albus and smiled. "Happy Valentine's day", she said and was about to return to her table when Albus called her name.

"Hey, Miranda!" Miranda turned her flushing face towards Albus' widely grinning one. "We're not allowed to go Hogsmeade so would you like to be my Potions partner?" Albus asked.

Miranda looked like it was her birthday, Christmas Eve, and Valentine's Day at the same time. "I-I... Yes!" she exclaimed brightly before giggling and running back to Gryffindor table where friends were waiting for her.

"Potions partner, Potter?" Ven rolled his eyes and snorted. "Really? So you could hold hands under Professor Blishwick's watching eyes?"

"Glocksworth is good in Potions", Albus explained nonchalantly and began tearing the box open. "And I'm not. Holding hands is a bonus. She's not exactly a bad choice."

"Did you two send any Valentine's day cards?" Scorpius who had been surprisingly silent asked suddenly.

Ven blinked. "Why would I have send any?" he said plainly. There weren't a girl who had sparked his attention so he hadn't bothered on sending any. He was sure though that he would receive one from Sarida Rai.

"I'm more comfortable getting than sending them", Albus told, eating the strawberry chocolates he had found from the box Miranda had just given to him.

"Did you send a card to someone, then?" Ven asked.

Scorpius turned bright red. "I may have sent one", he mumbled, fumbling his sleeves nervously.

"To who?" Albus asked.

Scorpius didn't get to answer him because of the arriving owls. Albus got a letter from his parents – Ginny was reminding him of that he would have to choose classes for the third year – and he got few Valentine's Day cards, too, except they were mostly from some girls he didn't even remember. Ven paid for his Daily Prophet and got few cards as well, and one of those was indeed from Sarida Rai. The yucky, glittery one.

In the Gryffindor table, Rose Weasley stood up and marched towards the Slytherin table a smile blasted on her face. Albus was about to greet her but she spoke first. Not to Albus, though.

"Thank you", she said directly to Scorpius, holding a book close to her chest. They could see a letter sticking out from between the pages. "I'm honoured", she stated. She wasn't blushing but otherwise she seemed to be on top of the world.

"The pleasure is all mine", Scorpius said with a polite smile. "I thought the book would spark your attention."

"Yes, I've been thinking about choosing Ancient Runes next year", Rose said, smiling as well.

"I heard you talking about it to Professor Norwood", Scorpius stated. "Not on purpose, of course."

Albus was almost choking on his pumpkin juice. Was Scorpius hitting on Rose? His best friend with his favourite cousin? If so he would need a lot of counselling. Ven was almost as surprised as Albus. That explained way too much of their friend's behaviour.

"Well, I see you in Potions", Rose said before prancing back to the Gryffindor table. Scorpius waved at her before he turned back to his fellow Slytherins. Ven and Albus were staring at him – Albus more abashedly than Ven, though. Darius just smiled in awe.

"Bloody hell, Scorp", Albus laughed dryly, still trying to get used to an idea of Scorpius and Rose together. "Seriously? You send a card to Rose? She's my cousin for Merlin's sake!"

"I know she's your cousin", Scorpius said defensively and turned bright pink as Albus continued to stare at him, waiting for some sort of explanation. "It doesn't change a thing", Scorpius stated. "She's pretty and smart and…"

Albus slammed his hands over his ears. "I changed my mind! I don't want to hear it!"

* * *

In the Hufflepuff table was filled with lively chatting and bustling around. It was hard to tell who was looking the happiest: Wilona Willopun after being asked to Hogsmeade by Warden Leech, or Timothy Finch-Fletchley when he was told the Slytherin Seeker Atticus Tourris wouldn't be able to play in the next Quidditch match?

As for the Valentine's Day cards it wasn't surprise that Layla and Chastity had gotten their hands full of those. Chastity had made a neat pile of the ones she had gotten and was constantly humming something as she watched the pile.

"I send one to Professor Dogwood, too", Chastity said, taking a bite of her cauldron cake. "But I don't think he will ever return my feelings." She sighed theatrically. "I just have to move on. Or what do you think, Will?"

William grimaced at the widely grinning Hufflepuff girl. "How many cards did you sent me?" he asked, sounding partly annoyed. He had, too, a pile of cards in front of him. Most of them were from Chastity.

"I would say not enough", Chastity cooed and winked.

Alistair ignored what was happening around himself. Maybe he should have fled just like Toby did after he had received his first card? He poked the bacons from the one side of the plate to the other. Next to him, Mary dug in her school bag. She tapped Alistair's shoulder when she had found what she was looking for.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Alistair", she said sweetly and gave a letter to Alistair. "It's nothing special. I just thought… I mean, you like Herbology, right? I thought you would like it."

Alistair nodded hesitantly at the smiling girl and carefully opened the folded piece of parchment. Inside it was a single flower. No sugary confessions or glitter and hearts but just a small and fragile yellow flower. Alistair stared at it, he knew what it was. It had been mentioned in a book he had gotten from Layla last year. The flower, _Evening Primrose, _blossom only at night and is famous of its use in medicines. How Mary had even got one when students weren't allowed to leave the castle at night was still a mystery. Alistair shook his head and folded the letter.

"Thank you", Alistair said with a small, unsure smile. "I didn't know these grow here." He looked at Mary an apologetic look in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I… I didn't get you anything."

"It's alright", Mary said and smiled. "I didn't expect you to."

"Well, um…" Alistair bit the inside of his cheek. "Maybe we could study together for the finals? If that's okay?"

Mary gave a nod. "Transfiguration?" she suggested.

"Transfiguration", Alistair repeated with a smile.

And maybe, just maybe, Valentine's Day wouldn't be so horrible.


	19. Chapter 19 Dogwood's Secret

Chapter 9. Dogwood's Secret

The Easter Break was over and once again it was time for the endless homework because the final exams of the year were coming and soon they would have to choose classes for their third year at Hogwarts. Professors were giving no mercy but instead they were demanding nothing but the best from their students. It was especially hard to try please Professor Blishwick who seemed to call at least one student per class a complete failure every day, and Professor Prosper who thought that seven feet essays were too short.

"Bloody hell, Scorp", Albus groaned, dragging his school bag which was currently filled with books through the corridor and following his blonde friend. "Why did you have to drag us with you to see Miss Page?"

Ven rolled his eyes though he could clearly understand why Albus was so upset. This was the third time during the week – and mind you, it was still Tuesday – when the three of them had made their way from their common room to the library. They were almost at Entrance Hall where they would continue to the dungeons.

"Because, if we want to get through the finals, we need to study a lot more than last year", Scorpius scoffed, holding a pile of books. "It's not like this is getting any easier…"

Ven almost bumped on Albus when Potter suddenly stopped walking and grabbed Scorpius from his collar. Albus pulled Scorpius behind the corner. "Shhh! Is that Professor Dogwood?" he whispered.

Indeed it was. Professor Dogwood went straight to the castle doors, opened them, and sneaked out from the castle. Albus, Ven, and Scorpius scurried after him and as they looked out the door the professor had left open they could clearly see Dogwood walking towards the edges of the forest before disappearing from their sight to the darkness of the night. Albus smirked mischievously and glanced at his friends.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

* * *

It was a Wednesday morning in the Great Hall and all second year students were expected to fill in their forms of which classes they would be choosing for their next year. Toby bit his quill. He, Layla, and Alistair were the only ones of the Hufflepuffs who still hadn't returned their forms. Chastity had known from the start she would pick Divination and Ancient Runes whereas William had hesitated between Muggle Studies and Arithmancy decided to pick Arithmancy anyway.

"What are choosing?" Layla asked Alistair. "I'm still thinking about should I pick the Ancient Runes or not."

"Well, I was thinking about choosing Arithmancy", Alistair said, looking at his form. "But I decided to take Divination and Muggle Studies instead."

"What about the Magical Creatures?" Toby blurted after finding out neither Alistair nor Layla was choosing Care of the Magical Creatures. "Come on! I don't want to be there without my best mate!" Toby pouted and tried his best to look like a sad puppy. "Please, 'Listair, please? Pick it for me?"

Alistair held back a grimace. Choosing Care of the Magical Creatures hadn't even crossed his mind. He was a person who very much preferred staying indoors. Magical creatures were also dangerous, unpredictable, and messy. If he really had to choose between Arithmancy and Care of the Magical Creatures you could guess who would buy a numerology book from Flourish and Blotts. But Toby continued to stare at Alistair pleadingly as if his life was depending on him.

"Fine", Alistair groaned. "I'll pick Care of the Magical Creatures as well…"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Toby screamed joyfully. "You won't regret this! I promise… I promise I would buy you anything from Honeydukes when we get to Hogsmeade next year! And I'll pair up with you every class!"

Alistair rolled his eyes at his friend and smiled. After exams there would be only few days left until summer holiday when he wouldn't see his friends for weeks. But it didn't bother him. He would be coming back in September. And that was going to be awesome.

* * *

Albus knocked on the door of the Astronomy Tower class. There was still almost an hour until the curfew. As no one answered he pulled the door open and stepped inside the cold tower with Ven and Scorpius. Professor Dogwood was sitting on the embrasure, a peacock feather quill between his fingers as he graded the star charts of the third year students. He seemed to ignore the presence of the three Slytherins.

"Professor Dogwood?" Albus started, gaining at last the professor's attention.

"Ah, Potter", Professor Dogwood said with a smile and put down the chart. "Malfoy and Zabini. What brought you here this beautiful night? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"We _know_ there's something wrong about you", Albus said bluntly and pulled out his wand. "We saw you sneak out to the Forbidden Forest last night."

Professor Dogwood laughed warmly. "Yes, I know you've been trying to find out what I've been hiding", he said and gave a smile. "I heard from Hagrid that three second year students may know some things they shouldn't."

"So you admit it? You like dark creatures?" Albus asked victoriously.

"I never denied that", Dogwood scoffed and jumped gracefully down from the embrasure. "But you're only partly right." Scorpius stepped instinctively back when Dogwood walked across the room. The professor kept on smiling. "You can ask anything, I promise to answer all the questions you have", he said and showed that his wand was still on the floor with the essays and charts. "So… What do you want to know?"

"You came here on All Hallows Eve", Albus said, taking a step forward. "Why then?"

"That was simply a coincidence. I didn't know what day it was", Dogwood admitted with a shrug, turning his back to the boys and looking out the window. "You see, I can't apparate. Travelling is, for me at least, slow." He sighed. "When I got Miss Sinistra's letter I was in Ukraine, doing research."

"About dark creatures?" Scorpius stated.

Dogwood looked at them over his shoulder. "Precisely."

"What were you interested in?" Ven asked. "Vampires, werewolves…?"

"You hadn't gotten that far yet?" Dogwood asked curiously, turning around to face the children again. "Miss Sinistra was the first professor to point it out when I studied here in Hogwarts. That I, just a muggleborn as I thought I was, allured people, I pleased them without doing nothing. People liked me for no reason." Professor Dogwood smiled a little. "I hadn't noticed it myself."

"So you're a Veela?" Albus said, baffled by his own words. "Like my Aunt?"

"Veela?" Dogwood said, repeating the word, tasting it. "No, I'm not. Veelas are, how I could explain it, not so _dark_ creatures. I'm definitely not Veela. The correct term is…"

"Incubus", Scorpius said suddenly. "Professor Prosper mentioned them before Christmas."

"So that's why the girls started acting so weirdly!" Albus exclaimed. "You had charmed them!" He pointed the professor with his wand. "Why are you here?"

Professor Dogwood raised his hands as sign of surrendering. "I came here to teach you Astronomy on Miss Sinistra's behalf. There's no other reason", he told sternly. "She trusted me. Headmistress Blanchard trusts me."

Scorpius had crouched down. He looked thoughtful as he went through the papers on the floor. "But you became the Head boy?" he asked, raising his eyes from the ungraded essay.

"Yes, with hard work", Dogwood said with a smile, curious of the fact that Scorpius had pointed him being a Head boy out. "It had nothing to do with what I am. I didn't charm them to choose me, even if you may think so." He tilted his head and looked at Albus. "Mr Potter, would you please put that wand away?"

"No", Albus hissed.

"But can an incubus be a respectful teacher?" Ven asked. "Can you control…?"

"As I said, the Headmistress trusts me", Dogwood said, interrupting Ven. "And as you have seen I haven't affected anyone in past months. It was all about getting used to_ humans _again."

Scorpius straightened up and walked next to Albus. "You mean that when you were doing research in Ukraine…?"

"I was living with the incubi", Professor Dogwood said. "You're a very clever boy Mr Malfoy. Ten points to Slytherin. You must be good in Defence."

"What about that we know about you?" Ven cut in. He didn't actually want another term-long break on his Astronomy studies but he wasn't sure could the professor really be trusted even though he had given them no reason to think otherwise. Ven wasn't sure what to think. He had learned so much during the last weeks when it came to Astronomy. What if Dogwood would leave because of them?

"I'll continue working here", Professor Dogwood said firmly and Ven immediately felt relieved. Albus instead didn't. "Even if you tell anyone about me", Dogwood added when he saw the determined look on Albus' face. "This place is my _home_."

Ven and Albus exchanged partly gazes. That sounded awfully way too familiar. Albus put his wand pack to his pocket and sighed. The determination wasn't gone and the distrust was still there but somehow he felt sad for the professor. Scorpius glanced at him, beckoning to ask the question they all were thinking.

"So", Albus started hesitatingly. "So you really wouldn't have any other place to go?" he asked, all spite gone from his voice. Dogwood gave a small, tight-lipped smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"I could always return to Ukraine", he told, too brightly in Ven's opinion. His tone didn't mix well with the sad expression. "But I consider myself more as a human than an incubus", Dogwood chuckled dryly. "Their lifestyle doesn't suit me very well."

Albus sighed. "Well, I guess this war is over then." He gave a wide smile and looked at his friends encouragingly. "Guys?"

"We won't tell anyone", Ven said and crossed his arms.

"You can count on us", Scorpius added with a nod.

Albus smirked. "But if you could tell us the answers for the final exams, that would be great."

Dogwood began laughing. "It would be nice if I could do that", he said. "Now off to bed. I still got work to do."

"I'll keep my eye on you!" Albus called before leaving the Astronomy Tower. "And I want at least a A from my essay!"

Their steps echoed in the staircase when three Slytherins made their way back to the dungeons. So, Professor Dogwood ended up being a good guy. It suited Ven better than well.

And there would be another magical year at Hogwarts just around the corner. New spells, new classes, perhaps some new friends.

Who would know?

END OF THE YEAR TWO.


	20. Chapter 20 Bonus: Second Year Ramblings

Bonus Chapter 10. Second Year Ramblings

The second year is over… Sniff, my little babies are growing up so fast but they'll be back for their third year before you can say _Quidditch Bitches_. And for the love of wizard God, I hated writing this year… Fillers! Fillers everywhere!

This is an info-chapter, feel free to skip, or preferably, feel free to read.

But I want to at least thank you all who have read, commented, favourited, followed, or just put my story to their bookmarks or something like that. Thank you! I love you all.

-o-o-o-

But about my babies, I mean, about Hufflepuffs:

Instead of Alistair, the second year was mostly about Toby. We got to known his family, and I actually liked writing about it. He actually has more cousins than I mentioned but the main point of his family was introducing Nike and Ion. If you remember Snuffles, Toby's pet toad, it's now given to Ion. And of course I wanted to mention one of my crackiest crack-pairing OTPs – Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones. I love to pair them up for some reason.

The skirmish between Toby and Jeremiah (and between Chastity and William) was planned from the start. I wanted to show new part of Toby, mainly that he can, too, be a selfish and short-tempered brat but who still cares about his friends. It's like "I can tease my friends all I want but if you do something like that to them you're dead". And I wanted to show Toby's a good in duelling.

Layla was yet again left to the background, though she and Chastity were affected by Professor Dogwood's charms. She just was there, being herself. Chastity once again made herself a strong character in many ways: she can be comforting and cheering up when someone's feeling low and she protects her pride (by having that twitchy wand-hand of hers). Mary instead made clear she can be both thoughtful and sweet. She'll go far in this story, you'll see.

-o-o-o-

About the itty-bitty Slytherins:

Like this year was about Toby, it was also about Albus, and also about Scorpius at the some point. Albus was in his constant war against Professor Dogwood. That's what you get when growing up listening stories of your parents childhood where every new teacher had something to hide. Scorpius instead tried his best to keep his feelings towards lovely Rose in check because of Albus but he soon decided it didn't really matter what his friend thought because Rose is what she is. Like pretty and smart and... Ah, young love. And on the second thought I don't even like Rose and Scorpius together. Deal with it.

Ven instead was mainly hanging around his two best friends and looking after Scorpius. What else would have done when your friend is acting weirdly and you don't have any evidence against him? And of course, he was relieved when everything was a big misunderstanding and he didn't have to inform his father about a will-be Death Eater. All he had to really worry was that Valentine's Day card he got from Sarida. Yuck, glitter.

And I suddenly remembered Albus was supposed to have a pet ferret. Maybe I'll bring that up someday in the future.

-o-o-o-

About Professor Ganymedes Dogwood:

The newest addition on Hogwarts' teachers table, I may say. I had from the start known that I would use the handsome and mysterious Professor Dogwood in the story but to be correct there were three possible versions made of him before I picked this one where he is revealed to be half-incubus. At first when I was writing about him he was quite a lot like Gilderoy Lockhart but well, his behaviour changed from that. Very. Quickly.

In the first version Dogwood was a vampire and he was supposed to bite Chastity. It was my friend who said having a vampire as a teacher would be too cliché when after all there has been a werewolf already so that idea got scrapped. I really would have liked him as a vampire…

In the second version he would have been an impostor and the real Professor Dogwood, as well as Professor Sinistra, would have returned in the end of the year and the fake Dogwood would have had to leave and left broken hearts of Hogwarts' girl population behind himself but as there have been Mad-Eye and Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter that idea was eventually scrapped as well.

The third and final version of him revealed him to a half-incubus. His mother was not a witch as Dogwood himself mentioned considering himself as a muggleborn, and his mother has actually been dead for quite some time which is why he can see Thestrals as mentioned by Hagrid. I'm not actually sure where he lived at the time, probably with his mother's relatives. After his graduation from Hogwarts, Dogwood left to travel around to learn about incubi.

Dogwood considered Sinistra as a mother figure and he loved her unconditionally as she hadn't judged him for what he is and that's why he took the job she had offered him. He had never even considered being a teacher and he actually knew barely anything about how to teach and what to teach which explains why the Astronomy classes didn't begin right after his arriving. He had to _learn_ how to teach before he could actually teach anyone.

-o-o-o-

Well, that's all about the second year. If you want to ask anything or if something in the story bothers you go ahead and tell me. Ideas are also appreciated.

The third year starts in the next chapter. See you later, mates!

-o-o-o-o-

Oh, and as a side thought I was thinking about bringing the Scamander twins, Lorcan and Lysander, to this story. I know it's said that Luna got her children later than her friends but in this story the twins would be the same age as Lily Luna and Hugo.

Would that be bad?


	21. Chapter 21 Unsettling Detection

Hooded Spellcaster is proud to present THE THIRD YEAR in her story 'SLYTHERIN PRIDE, HUFFLEPUFF PREJUDICE'.

A/N: And once again big thanks to everyone who has read the first two years of this story, I love you all so much!

Third Year Summary: The students are back to Hogwarts for their third year. They are not children anymore. Some things have changed, some will never change. Alistair tries to deny himself, Ven has problems, and the future will be revealed in the Divination classroom.

And for once there are WARNINGS: They are not children anymore so this will be a slight turning point in this story. I like slash, so there will be homosexual characters in addition to heterosexual characters. You're okay with that? Good. If you're not I thank you for reading this far.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter or anything related to it. Recognizable characters and parts of Harry Potter storyline belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros. respectively. I don't make any profit by writing this. Thank you.

* * *

Chapter 1. Unsettling Detection

It was the end of the August and Diagon Alley was crammed full of people like always when the first of September was approaching. All young witches and wizards from all around the Great Britain got their school supplies from the very same street. The book shop, Flourish and Blotts, was one of the places where you had to wait outside until you could enter because the shop was full all the time.

Alistair Nott, now thirteen since his birthday had been few days ago, was waiting outside the shop for the concourse of people to move along so he could get the books for his third year. When he finally got into the shop he couldn't see the familiar shop assistant anywhere.

"Rory!" he called. The red-haired man made his way from the storage room to the shop. He grinned widely when he noticed who he was called him.

"Man, Liz, you've gotten taller", Rory said and trudged through the customers. He ruffled Alistair's hair. "It's nice to see you again. Is it been a year already? Have you hit five feet already?" he asked with a smirk.

Alistair grinned. "Uh-huh."

"What do you need for this year?" Rory asked. "It's your third year, isn't it? Well, let me see." Alistair handed the list of new books he was going to need to Rory and gained a wide grin. "You took Divination?" Rory scoffed playfully. "Well, they say old Trelawney has got few of her prophecies right in past few last years. People say she got better than she used to be after the War."

"How have you been?" Alistair asked.

"Me? Busy, that's how I've been", Rory snorted, starting to collect the books from the list.

When they were almost ready the shop had become even more crammed than it was and some customers were getting reckless.

"Out of my way!"

A plump woman with a face that made her strongly resemble a bulldog walked through the shop like she owned it and pushed other customers out of her way, including Alistair. Alistair bumped on Rory and he would have lost his balance if the assistant hadn't caught him. He gasped silently. He was pressed against Rory's chest and he could feel the muscles through the fabric of the t-shirt and hear the rhythmic, steady heartbeat and… And oh my Merlin. Alistair pushed himself away from Rory and fixated his gaze on the floor.

"Are you alright?" Rory asked worriedly.

"I'm… I'm just fine", Alistair said, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"Are you sure? Your face is quite red", Rory stated and placed his hand on Alistair's forehead. "You do feel a little feverish."

Alistair stared the floor. "I said I'm fine", he muttered. That was weird.

* * *

September 1st came like every year, bringing excitement to the student's of all ages. Ven Zabini was actually happier than ever to return back to Hogwarts. His holiday had been literally stormy because Miss Tracey Davis from the Ministry of Magic had been at the Zabini manor for the most of the summer. And she and Ven didn't really get along. Neither did Miss Davis and the Zabini family's house elf, Tabby. Tabby, who shared the mutual hatred towards the woman with Ven, disagreed to serve her as she wasn't a part of the family and that had made the Ministry's lady quite angry though she couldn't do anything for that. Not yet at least.

The new term was once again starting at Hogwarts and all students other than first years were transported from the Hogsmeade station to Hogwarts' grounds by horseless carriages. Ven had shared the carriage with his two best friends: Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter, and the latter of them had been grinning mischievously through the ride to the Hogwarts' gates. At the Entrance Hall Albus pulled them to the empty corridor.

"Shouldn't we be going to the Great Hall?" Scorpius asked.

"Not now", Albus whispered sneakily. "I have a plan."

Ven rolled his eyes. This couldn't mean anything good.

* * *

Alistair sat between Toby and Mary at the Great Hall, waiting for the Sorting Ceremony to begin. It was hard to believe that from his Sorting had been two whole years. This was already his third year and it was hard to believe. The Frog Choir's performance started the Sorting Ceremony, and Alistair was sure he recognized Ion Diggle among the other choir members. The Sorting Hat's song was heard next; the Hat praised the House Unity more than in two previous years and sang longingly about the Founders of Hogwarts – the courageous Godric Gryffindor was true at heart, the loyal Helga Hufflepuff unafraid of toil, the beautiful Rowena Ravenclaw got wit beyond measure, and the determined Salazar Slytherin held his ambition until the very end.

After the song the actual Sorting began. This year the honour of reading out the names of the new first year students had been given to Professor Longbottom. The professor of Herbology opened the scroll and students silenced to listen.

"Riley Angevine!" Professor Longbottom called and a lanky boy came trembling in front of the all Hall and put the Sorting Hat in his head. The whole school waited silently.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat announced and the students in the table full of cheering Gryffindors in their red and gold striped ties.

"Noel Blakes!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Mithila Blythe was the third to be called and she became a Slytherin and so did Phoebus Chandler. Archie Dagger instead was a Ravenclaw. After several students Tori Kittredge was sorted into Hufflepuff making her the year's first new badger. After the Hat had sorted Chad McLaggen into Gryffindor Professor Longbottom smiled widely.

"Lily Potter!" he called and the small red-haired girl walked to the stool. She sat there for a while before the Hat had made its final decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!" it exclaimed and Lily Potter gained the Hall filling applauses from the Gryffindors. She sat next to her oldest brother James and smiled a little.

"Alrumia O'Connor!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The perky little girl with shiny teeth ran straight to the Hufflepuff table and sat next to Marvel Brooks and tried to start a conversation with him but Brooks didn't seem interested talking with anyone. According to Mary it was because he had gotten, in his opinion, too poor scores in his OWLs last year. Toby seemed to have fallen asleep on the table and was snoring peacefully through the Sorting.

Professor Longbottom looked at the scroll and called once again a name of a new student. "Lorcan Scamander!"

"RAVENCLAW!" the Hat exclaimed and the Ravenclaws applauded.

The twin brother of the former had already stepped forward as he knew his name would be called next. Both of the tiny boys had fluffy, cloud-like blonde hair but whereas Lorcan had seemed more serious, as he was sorted into Ravenclaw, his brother had dreamier, more wondering expression.

"Lysander Scamander!"

The Hat took more time to sort Lysander than it had taken with his brother but at last the Hat exclaimed its final decision to all Hall.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Soon there were only two children left and the other one of them, Eireen Walenty, became a Ravenclaw. The last one to be sorted was a bushy haired boy, clearly a part of the Weasley family as his resemblance with Rose was striking.

"Hugo Weasley!" Neville Longbottom called.

The boy had barely put the Hat on his head when it already exclaimed: "GRYFFINDOR!"

When the boy had sat down at the Gryffindor table, the Headmistress Ambrosine Blanchard stood up and called for silence.

"Welcome, welcome", she said when the Hall had silenced to listen her speech. "New term in Hogwarts is about to begin. I hope you'll all enjoy the Feast. Thank you."

The Feast appeared before their eyes, magnificent as ever. Hogwarts' house elves had really outdone themselves this year.

Toby rubbed his eyes and glared at Chastity who had woke him up a moment ago. He groaned and grunted several times before he was finally fully awake. He looked with slight disdain at one of the newest Hufflepuffs. Lysander Scamander was holding the magazine upside down and reading it a rather intent look in his eyes.

"Is that the _Quibbler_?" Toby asked, frowning slightly.

"All respectable wizards read the Quibbler", Lysander stated bluntly but smiled and continued reading the magazine.

Toby didn't look convinced. "Errr… Okay? Oh, look! The food!"

He glanced at Alistair, making a face while he beckoned at Scamander. Alistair just shrugged before following Toby's example and digging in the food. He wasn't very familiar with the Quibbler magazine but he had heard it was full of interesting articles yet he had also heard that most them had no real foundation behind them.

The evening passed swiftly and Alistair gave a pleased sigh when he finally got to his bed in the third year Hufflepuff boys' dorm. He was tired but feeling confident. This was their third year already. Their _third_ year. Most important year since their first. There would be new classes to attend, new and more challenging spells to learn, more difficult potions to brew, more dangerous plants to grow…

Alistair fell asleep a smile on his face.

Third year.


	22. Chapter 22 Marauder's Map

Chapter 2. Marauders' Map

Ven and Scorpius had followed Albus to the Slytherin dungeons instead of attending the Start-of-the-Term Feast. What Albus had in mind, oh no, Ven didn't even want to consider possible the consequences. But when they get to their dorm where their luggage had already been brought even Ven's curiosity began to awake. Albus went straight to his trunk and started looking for something, and at last, he pulled a piece of parchment and spread it to his bed where Ven and Scorpius could see it as well.

"Look at this", Albus said and touched the parchment with the tip of his wand. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

The crisscrossing lines began to appear all over the parchment, making it look distantly like…

"Is that... a map of Hogwarts?" Ven asked, disbelieving what he saw. Albus nodded proudly and pointed at the spot where the Great Hall was. It was so filled in that all the names in the map couldn't even be read.

"Amazing", Scorpius whispered. "Where did you get that?"

"I snatched it from James' trunk in the train before I joined you", Albus told, grinning mischievously. "He's been made a prefect so I decided it would be dangerous in his hands. But that's not all." He pointed the map again, saying this time words: "Mischief managed." Ven and Scorpius watched as Albus rolled the map and put it back to his trunk and pulled out another object – a fine, silvery cloak. Albus grinned. "This... is my father's Invisibility Cloak", he said. "With this and the Map we can..."

"Invisibility cloak?" Scorpius scoffed at Albus, interrupting his friend. He had heard enough stories about how Albus' father had gotten into trouble by using it. "Whatever you're planning I won't take part in it", Scorpius said sternly and crossed his arms.

"But Scorp!" Albus whined. "I haven't even told you my plan yet!"

"I have my reputation", Scorpius huffed.

"Yes, your reputation as a bloody killjoy", Albus snorted and gave a grin. "Come on, it'll be fun."

Scorpius grimaced. "My answer is still no."

* * *

"Alistair…"

Alistair turned around in his bed and pulled the blanket over his head, not intending to get up anytime soon. It couldn't be time for breakfast yet.

"Alistair…!"

Finally Alistair cracked his eyes open. The sun hadn't rose yet but in the dorm's dim lighting he could saw his best friend staring at him an odd look on his face.

"What now…?" Alistair mumbled quietly and sat up. Was something wrong? He looked around the room. Jeremiah and William appeared still being asleep. "Why did you wake me up?" he asked worriedly.

Toby frowned at Alistair. "You were talking in your sleep", he said bluntly and crossed his arms.

"I was…?" Alistair asked suspiciously. No one had ever told him before that he had been sleep-talking.

Toby nodded. "Did you see a nightmare or something?"

"I… I don't think so", Alistair said and shook his head lightly. "I don't remember seeing any kind of dream. What did I say, then?"

"You just mumbled something", Toby said and yawned. "But you sounded alarmed. I thought it would be best if I wake you up."

Alistair gave a faint smile. "Thanks."

"No problem." Toby sat up and tip-toed to the other side of the room. "G'night, 'Listair", he said and dived under the covers.

"Good night", Alistair replied quietly.

He closed his eyes but he couldn't sleep. He just couldn't sleep when he tried to remember what kind of dream he had been seeing before Toby had woke him up.

But there was nothing he could bring back to his mind and soon he gave up and fell to dreamless sleep.

* * *

On the other side of the castle, when it got closer to the two o'clock, the Slytherin common room's door opened. There was no one to be seen but under the Invisibility Cloak were three young wizards on their way towards the Gryffindor Tower.

"Remind me again why _I'm_ doing this with you?" Ven asked, sounding a little frustrated by the situation. "You already convinced Scorpius to this madness so why…?"

"We needed someone to read the map", Albus replied. "Now shut up."

They walked in silence until they reached the Tower where Gryffindors lived. Albus drew the cloak off them, stuffed it into a bag, and his lips twitched up into a smile.

"Okay", Albus took a deep breath. "The prefects are out the Tower and patrolling here –" He pointed at the spot which said names _James Potter_ and _Molly Weasley_. "– here –" He pointed at another spot on the Map. "– and here." He showed the third spot and gave the map to Ven. "Zabini, stay here and if you see James approaching us in the Map..."

"...I come to warn you and we leave immediately", Ven said. He knew the plan.

"Yep. Scorp and I will perform the charm", Albus said and snickered. "Gryffies won't even know what hits them."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Is anyone in the common room?" he asked. Ven looked at the Map and shook his head. Scorpius gave a nod. "Good."

Scorpius strutted to the painting which portrayed a fat woman in a pink dress. The woman in the pointing huffed at him.

"Password", she demanded. Scorpius glanced at Albus who nodded reassuringly.

"Patronus charm", Scorpius said and the painting moved to let them through. He glared at Albus when the way was clear. "Hurry up, Al", he hissed. "I don't want to get caught."

Albus and Scorpius went through the portrait hole and Ven was left to the corridor. His gaze was fixated on a name 'James Potter' who was currently in the third floor with the fellow Gryffindor prefect. The minutes passed and he was getting quite nervous.

"What's taking so long?" Ven groaned and looked at the Map. James Potter was still far away and he was going away from the Gryffindor Tower. After couple more minutes Albus came out from the hole, Scorpius following him.

"It's perfect!" he whispered heatedly, snickering at their joke. "Now we'll just go back to common room and tomorrow we'll act like we know nothing about it."

They didn't get far away from the Tower when the actual horror was standing right in front of them, staring them into the eyes. Of course they had kept an eye on Albus' brother but no one had even considered to get caught to the caretaker. Ven quickly hid the map behind his back.

"What do we have here?" Clayton asked, tilting his head and grinning. "Three Slytherin brats having a nice night walk, eh?"

"We're busy, let us through!" Albus barked but Clayton just ignored his voice.

"And just outside the Gryffindors", the caretaker cooed. "Detention, I say! Ha! We'll see what ye old Blishwick has to say about this, will we?"

And as one might have guessed, Professor Blishwick was furious.

"Idiots!" she screeched, standing behind her desk in her night robes. "What were you thinking? Or were you thinking at all!?"

"Imelda dear", the painting of a bald, old man with walrus-like moustache – the previous Professor of Potions – said, trying to calm the woman down. He partly succeeded and instead of screeching Professor Blishwick turned frigid and stared at the three of her students.

The boys just stood silently in front of her and avoided her piercing gaze until Albus finally gave up and stepped forward. He looked at the Professor in the eye.

"Professor, it was my fault", he said, taking Ven and Scorpius by surprise. "You know my brother James?" He bit his lip and waited for a moment before continuing. "Our mother had packed some of books I knew I would need tomorrow into his trunk. I was going to see him but they –" Albus beckoned at Ven and Scorpius "– insisted on coming with me, in case if we ran into Peeves."

The Professor looked very thoughtful for a moment and Clayton's self-satisfied smirk tailed off a little because of that. The painting instead smiled widely.

"There you heard, Imelda", he said warmly, gaining a distrustful grunt from the caretaker. "They had good intentions."

Professor Blishwick crossed her arms. "You three get 20 points off from each of you", she said. "And a warning. Next time you are caught from walking around the castle in the middle of the night I won't be as generous. Now off to bed. No more wandering."

"Yes, ma'am", Albus said innocently. "We're sorry."

Ven and Scorpius nodded in agreement and they all left Professor Blishwick's office very swiftly, leaving behind Caretaker Clayton who was more perplexed and disappointed than ever.

"I was sure we were all going to get a detention", Scorpius sighed when they were far enough to talk, clutching the bag where the Invisibility Cloak was.

"Well, we didn't", Albus hummed and gave a proud smile. "And it's all thanks to me."

Ven handed the Map back to Albus. "It was your bloody idea in the first place", he snorted.

"Thank Merlin we're Slytherins", Scorpius chimed in. "Otherwise Professor Blishwick hadn't gone so easy on us."

"Stop worrying so much", Albus groaned when they get to the Slytherin common room entrance and he said the password. "Let's just get to bed, please. Or else you'll suffer the consequences of me being tired tomorrow in Charms." He gave a one last smirk. "And the plan was a success anyway. I can't wait to see James' face tomorrow morning at the Great Hall."


	23. Chapter 23 Divination

Chapter 3. Divination

It was clear even without saying that the Gryffindors were angry at the Great Hall next morning.

Very angry, to be exact. Murderous.

Ven was sure that at least James Potter who glared at the Slytherins knew who had been behind the whole "let's-turn-Gryffindor-common-room-into-a-mess-of-green-and-silver" prank. Of course no one could prove Albus, Scorpius, and Ven guilty.

"I must be the greatest genius Hogwarts has seen after Uncles Fred and George", Albus said and nudged Scorpius. "Ready for another prank?"

Scorpius grimaced. "No."

"But I was _so sure_ you could levitate this pudding to the Gryffindor table but I _guess _you're not _that_ competent…"

"Me? Not _competent_ enough?" Scorpius cocked a brow.

Albus dipped his fingers into the big bowl of chocolate pudding. "Yeah, too bad you can't prove me wrong."

Scorpius smuggled his wand out from his schoolbag and looked warily around. "And where exactly you wanted me to drop it…?"

Albus smirked. "Well…"

Ven rolled his eyes. He was sure he was getting into trouble because of those two someday. He was so sure about that.

* * *

The Muggle Studies was taught by Wylie Buttonpress – the Head of the Hufflepuff House – a woman with an everlasting smile on her face and clothes that made think about the muggle fashion trends of the late seventies. Professor Buttonpress hadn't been disappointed at all when she had noticed that only eight students had decided to attend to her class. In addition to Alistair, Jeremiah and Mary were the only third year Hufflepuffs to choose Muggle Studies. Leon Flannery and Mathilda Knoxweed were the only Ravenclaws, and the rest of the class considered three Gryffindors: Leonard Yale, Miranda Glocksworth, and Gennifer Parker. Buttonpress said eight students was a perfectly fine for her since she wanted to get known to each of her students individually and began babbling about the Muggle nature and non-magical habits.

At the Care of the Magical Creatures, the subject Alistair hadn't planned to choose, they had mostly talked about what they would work with during the term. Alistair had even thought he would manage to get through the year when Professor Hagrid had left to his hut and when he didn't return empty-handedly. A vast bucket was in his left hand, and a crate full of something green in his right. The green stuff was found out to be lettuces and cabbages.

The bucket instead was full of brown worms.

"These little fellas here are Flobberworms", Hagrid explained and put the bucket on the ground. "They eat cabbage. Yer gonna feed 'em."

Alistair grimaced. "This is not going to be my day..."

* * *

"Haaagriid", Albus whined from the other side of the group when Hagrid had told them about feeding Flobberworms. "You can't be serious? Flobberworms?" He rolled his eyes. "Really? My dad told me when you taught him you showed them _Hippogriffs_ on their_ first_ lesson!"

The most of the other students joined in.

"Everyone can handle Flobberworms."

"If they had learned about Hippogriffs why should we suffer with the worms?"

"Hippogriffs would be much more interesting."

Ven had crossed his arms. He agreed with Albus but Hagrid instead had turned red and Ven couldn't tell was it for anger or annoyance.

"We're not goin' to study Hippogriffs until yer do fine with the Flobberworms!" Hagrid shouted firmly to gain the students attention again. "That's how it should be; nothing too extreme ter ye!"

Albus grimaced. "But why?" he groaned, throwing his hands up, completely frustrated. "They are _Flobberworms_ for Merlin's sake! We have already learned about more risky creatures than those in Defense and…!"

"It's a necessary caution", Scorpius piped in, silencing Albus and making him gape like a fish at his friend. "Because all students don't always follow the given instructions." At that point Scorpius glanced apologetically at the professor. Hagrid nodded and Scorpius continued.

"That can lead to a severe damage if we don't know how to confront all kinds of creatures. It's not like we're not trusted; it's about giving us a chance to show our skills. It's true that Flobberworms are quite–"

"Pathetic", Albus snorted with disdain, and few other students agreed by nodding.

"–yes, pathetic. Thank you, Albus", Scorpius said and continued. "But when we have enough experience with not-so-dangerous creatures we can later move on to more challenging beasts, like Hippogriffs for example." He, as well as the rest of the class, looked at Hagrid. "Can't we?"

Hagrid looked rather unsure but as the whole class kept staring at him broodingly he couldn't do anything else but agree. "Umm, yea." He frowned at Albus and Scorpius a little as the students exchanged excited looks between each other. "More dangerous creatures", he mumbled before puffing up his chest and pointing at the worms.

"But yer gonna have to feed the Flobbers firs'! Come on, come on!"

* * *

The third year students had also their core classes to attend and that was when Alistair got a reminder that Slytherins' had their reputation and sometimes even the Slytherins themselves seemed to forget about it. Darius Flint, the tallest and fittest of the third year Slytherins, was put in the same table with Alistair, Mary, and Rosier – the Slytherin girl whose first name Alistair still didn't remember. They were supposed to practice the spell _Vera Verto_ which they had learned last year whilst Professor Norwood strolled around the class. Flint, instead, had other plans.

"Is it true that you're a mudblood?" he asked from Mary with a grin and cocked his head. "And that your parents are... What do you call them? Shoemakers?"

Rosier burst into giggles. "Shoemakers", she repeated gleefully.

"Yes, they're shoemakers", Mary said calmly but quietly.

Flint raised a brow. "And they…?"

"They fix people's shoes", Mary sighed with a faint blush on her cheeks. She hated talking about her parents being muggles but even more than that she looked ashamed of being so rudely addressed as a mudblood in the class.

"Not that I would mind you fixing my shoes", Flint said, making Mary's blush deepen but this time for entirely different manner. Rosier made sure Professor Norwood was looking away when she swatted Flint's arm, hard.

"Darius Flint, your girlfriend sits in the very next table", Rosier hissed. Lucinda Cross was shooting a very angry look towards them.

"Wait, what? No! I'm not flirting with her!" Flint exclaimed, gaping at the raven girl.

Rosier rolled her eyes and grimaced. "Sure, you're not", she said with a snort.

"You dumb bitch, I'm not flirting with–!"

"Ahem. Mr Flint, could you show us an example of _Vera Verto_?" Norwood asked coolly and placed his hand on Flint's shoulder. "I'm sure, since you use so much time talking rather than practicing, your example should be an exemplary."

Flint made a face. "I… Umm, yeah. Sure…"

Would be unnecessary to mention who failed to accomplish the spell.

* * *

The weeks passed and new classes had become a routine. At the Care of the Magical they had moved from Flobberworms, which were the dullest creatures ever, to salamanders, which in Albus' opinion weren't much better. But instead the Divination lessons – taught by old and googly-eyed Professor Trelawney – were amusing. They were currently learning how to read the future from tea dregs which seemed easier than it actually was. Not to mention the professor was completely smitten by Albus Potter.

"Out of our way!" Albus said loudly while walking in a crowd of first year Gryffindors on their way to the Divination class room. "Slytherin Prince coming through!" he added, making Scorpius groan.

"You know I hate when you call me that", Scorpius sighed and glared desperately at his friend. Ven instead snickered behind his edition of _Unfogging the Future_. Albus had made a habit of using the nickname.

"But it's true!" Albus said with a grin. "Slytherin Prince in the fourth generation! You should be _proud_!"

Scorpius glanced at Albus as icily as he could. "I'm honoured, oh mighty Son-of-the-Boy-Who-Lived", he said and bowed, wearing a smirk on his face.

Albus made a face. "Well that was just low of you", he scoffed. "You know that title belongs to James."

"Right. Oh mighty Son-of-the-Boy-Who-Lived who ended up in the House of Snakes", Scorpius said with a smirk. "Better?"

"Quite but not really", Albus replied with a similar expression. "Oh bloody hell!" he exclaimed and stopped abruptly.

Ven cocked a brow. "What now?"

"I forgot to do my Charms essay!" Albus cried out and looked around like trying to find a rock to hide under. "And we have Charms right after Divination!"

"I reminded you!" Scorpius groaned, holding back his vexation. "You promised to do it last night. What were you doing? Snogging with Miranda?"

"With Leanne, actually", Albus said, running his through his hair and huffing. "Miranda broke up with me after our last Hogsmeade date."

"Remind me again why?" Scorpius asked and gave a sigh.

"Oh, you don't wanna know", Ven said with a grin. "Some things are better left unsaid."

"True enough", Albus agreed and turned back to the way they were coming from. "Gotta go; tell Trelawney I'll be late!"

Scorpius knocked on the door of the Divination classroom and Professor Trelawney soon after came to open the door to them. She was wearing an old russet coloured shawl and a pair of 3D-glasses. She smiled and nodded her head when she saw the two students.

"I already saw Mister Potter would be late", she said with a happy sigh and let the boys into the classroom. "Sometimes I hope I would predict things wrong. Take your seats. We'll finally today try predicting from the dregs."

The tea was drinkable but nothing like Ven had been used to. It was bitter and almost cold. When he had drunk his tea and the cup was empty Ven exchanged it with Scorpius' and opened the textbook. The dreg patterns were mostly unreadable. That could be a star, or maybe not. Perhaps it should be looked at upside down…

Scorpius twiddled Ven's cup in his hands, looking at the tea dregs from all possible angles. Once in a while he glanced at the textbook and then again at the cup.

"I'm pretty sure it's a tower", he said finally. Ven raised his eyes from Scorpius' cup.

"A tower?" Ven repeated.

Scorpius nodded. "It means… A sudden change", he said. "And some sort of prize."

Professor Trelawney came to their table. "Have you seen the future?" she asked hazily. Scorpius gave the cup to the professor.

"I think it's a tower", he said.

Professor Trelawney looked at Ven's cup and inhaled sharply when she saw the dregs. "Yes, there is a change. I see an accident. Yes, you'll be wounded", Professor Trelawney said, staring now straight into Ven's eyes. "It'll be severe for your future. It will change it forever!"

Some girls who had been listening to the professor gasped. Professor Trelawney smiled and put Ven's cup back to the table. "I'm sorry, dear child."

When the class was over, Scorpius and Ven went on their way to the Charms class where Albus would hopefully be with his finished essay.

Scorpius patted his back. "Don't worry", he said. "She has failed before."

Ven nodded and gave a small smile but he couldn't stop thinking if there really would be an accident which would change his life.

* * *

Toby was excited.

He had finally been made an actual member for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team since Angharad Ezer had graduated last year. Instead the beaters, Walley and Rhys, had willingly decided to take a break from Quidditch as they were both trying to study for next year when they would take part in the NEWT exams. The Captain, Timothy Finch-Fletchley, had taken it well and after the try-outs the team had gotten three new players in addition to Toby: fourth year students, Jean Kerr and George Larkins were now holding the bats for Hufflepuffs glory and a fifth year student Marceline Appleby had been chosen to fill in the reserve chaser's spot.

But as for Alistair things were getting worse and worse. Wherever he went he noticed how good-looking boys there actually were at Hogwarts. And it felt horrible, sickening. And agreeing to Toby's wish to go watching Hufflepuff team's practice had been a bad idea. He was sitting with Marceline – or Marcie as everyone called her – and Lysander Scamander who for some reason seemed to be everywhere with them.

"Hey! Hey, Marcie! Hey! Look at me; I can fly without my robes on!"

Well, yeah. Seeing Jean Kerr who was tall and brawny for a fourteen year old without his Quidditch robes, his tanned skin glistening in the evening sun and his perfectly built chest and abs and... Alistair tried to look away but it was easier said than done.

"That's nothing!" George Larkins laughed. "Wait till he takes his pants off!"

"That's what you want to see, Larkins!" Kerr cut in, reeling in the air on his Aerial Sweep.

"Do it!" Larkins prompted. "For Marcie!"

Marcie just laughed at the show but in Alistair's opinion the charade was anything but amusing. Lysander lowered his magazine and glanced at him.

"I should take you to the infirmary", he said dreamily. "You don't look good. Probably you have a sunstroke, or Wrackspurts."

"I can see your butt crack!" Larkins yelled at Kerr, and several annoyed swearwords – along with the direct command to put the trousers back on – were heard from the team's seeker.

"No! No, I'm fine", Alistair said, glancing quickly at the pitch where Kerr was now wearing only his underwear. "I just... I just need some rest", he mumbled and hurried away from the stands. It took a while to regain the control over himself.

"Jean isn't my type", Alistair said to himself and stared at the mirror in the Hufflepuff boys bathroom. "He's good-looking, okay. Everyone knows that. Nothing wrong here. Nothing wrong at all..."


	24. Chapter 24 Moaning Myrtle

Chapter 4. Moaning Myrtle

The peaceful atmosphere in the Slytherin common room was gone in a matter seconds and Ven had to stop writing his essay for Professor Dogwood because of the nagging voice.

"How many times I have to tell you not to do that sort of things?!"

Jonathon Fort was enraged which was quite usual so that didn't stop the younger Slytherins from laughing. Marlon Bulstrode, the fifth year student and the Slytherin Quidditch team's beater, and Jules Hawley from the same year as Bulstrode just laughed even louder as the prefect glared at them murderously.

"I can't believe it", Fort groaned and looked like he was soon getting a headache. "Can't you just leave her alone?"

"Why should we?" Hawley said. "She's dead anyway!"

"Yeah", Bulstrode chimed in. "'Boo-hoo, I'm just so miserable. I'm crying in the girls' lavatory, don't throw stuff at me'!"

"Moaning Myrtle is just a ghost", Hawley said, snickering at Bulstrode's imitation and making Fort even more frustrated. The fifth year boys were uncontrollable and Fort knew it. Though it didn't make him stop trying to make them behave.

Albus perked up immediately when Hawley mentioned the ghost's name.

"Moaning Myrtle?" he repeated curiously, his smile widening. The older students turned towards the couch where Albus, Ven, and Scorpius were doing their essays.

Bulstrode smirked. "You don't know her?" he asked and Ven suspected Fort was clearly going to stop him from saying anything more. "She's a ghost who lives in the first-floor girls' lavatory", Bulstrode continued. "Died there about sixty years ago. Nobody likes her and at least I can see why. When Hawley and I went there she began screeching like it was the end of the world."

"Oh really?" Albus asked, tilting his head.

Ven rolled his eyes. He already knew what Albus had in mind when he saw the mischievous look on his friend's face. Fort had also noticed what the younger Potter brother was thinking.

"Don't even think about it, Potter", he said sternly and crossed his arms. "Besides it's almost curfew and no one is, except the prefects, allowed to leave the Slytherin premises at night. Off to your dorm." The deep frown adorned his face. "And I don't want to hear that any of you trespasses girls' lavatories ever again, is that clear?"

The three Slytherins went to their dorm. Albus went straight to his trunk and dug out his father's Invisibility Cloak just like Ven had predicted. Scorpius sat on his bed and sighed.

"Tell me you're not going there", he said desperately.

"Oh Scorp, of course I was thinking about you two joining me", Albus hummed and opened the Marauders' Map as Scorpius frowned at him. "You have to live a little. It'll be like an adventure."

"Breaking rules is not an adventure", Scorpius scoffed but Albus' smirk didn't falter.

"We'll see."

* * *

"Hi, Alistair", Mary hummed and sat down next to Alistair on the couch next to the fireplace. She had her tie more loosely tied around her neck and few top buttons of her shirt were opened. She smiled and played with her hair which wasn't for once braided.

Alistair gave a smile, putting his book down and paying more attention on his friend. "How was Arithmancy?"

Mary had joined the Hogwarts Arithmancy Club and the club members had barricaded themselves into the school library every Wednesday after the dinner since the lessons had began in the beginning of the year. She was only one of the third year Hufflepuffs who had even bothered to join in any clubs at Hogwarts though William had briefly considered taking Muggle Art classes.

"It was quite interesting actually", Mary said, looking for a second a little disappointed but hiding it behind her smile. "We learned about the differences in magical qualities between even and odd numbers. Professor Vector always stresses that seven is the most powerful magical number but other than that the even numbers have strong positive magic as the odd numbers wield more defensive, darker magic and…"

Alistair tilted his head when Mary suddenly silenced. She glanced at Alistair and a frown of worry appeared on her forehead. She bit her lower lip.

"Do I bore you?" she asked, partly dead-serious and partly ashamed and blushing.

"What? No, not at all!" Alistair said quickly, confused that Mary even consider she would bore him. "Arithmancy sounds interesting. I just hope I would have picked it, too." He grimaced a little. "Instead of Care of the Magical Creatures."

"So you really don't like those lessons?" Mary stated, making Alistair nod defeatedly. Mary gave a hopeful smile. "Then why you just don't stop going to those classes? Professor Vector would be delighted if you join us. And the club needs new members. And–" A darker blush coloured her cheeks. "–I would like to share more classes with you."

"I can't stop attending the Magical Creatures class just like that", Alistair reminded Mary who had leaned a little closer to him. "And Toby would throw a fit if I did. I promised him to go those classes with him. I can't let him down."

Mary, instead of complaining, leaned back, gave a sullen smile and unbuttoned her shirt.

"You're right", she mumbled and sat up. "I'll… I'll just go to bed."

"Oh? Okay", Alistair replied and blinked. It couldn't be even eight yet since Toby, and Layla, hadn't returned from the Quidditch practises. "Good night."

Mary nodded. "Night."

Alistair listened until he heard the door of girls' dorm close before picking up and returning to his book. Surely he couldn't sleep at that time of the evening. He would have been woken up by Toby eventually if he did. Alistair looked at the way Mary had gone.

Her behaviour confused him.

As if she had…

Nah.

* * *

"Here we are."

Albus took off the Invisibility Cloak when the three Slytherins were in front of the first floor's girls' lavatory. Scorpius nodded but his expression was hesitant when Albus opened the door and raised his forefinger close to his lips as a sign to be quiet. The lavatory door didn't make a sound when he pulled it open. Scorpius and Ven followed him inside the spacious bathroom. It looked like some, if not all, toilets were flooding. Scorpius pointed at the water on the floor, warning the others of the slippery tiles.

The loud wailing, or more likely raging, filled the bathroom in seconds.

"Ooh! Look at her! Can you throw a book through her head?!" The sounds were coming from the cubicle in the very back of the lavatory. "Yes, throw a book through fat and ugly Myrtle's head! She can't feel a thing! Ha ha haa!"

Ven and Scorpius stood behind Albus and kept a safe distance from their friend who approached the cubicle. Albus opened the cubicle's door slowly.

"Hey, Myrtle", he said a little awkwardly, not knowing how to speak to the ghost as the ghost of the Slytherin house, Bloody Baron, wasn't a very talkative sort of ghost and Albus hadn't really confronted any other ghosts of the Hogwarts castle except for passing them by at the corridor.

The ghost girl looked over her shoulder, her eyes widening in shock and anger. And before Albus, Ven or Scorpius could have said anything more she began yelling at them. And oh how she yelled. It was a surprise her voice didn't reach all the way to Clayton's office – otherwise they had been in trouble for the second time during the term and this time Blishwick wouldn't be as generous as she had been. Albus tried his to explain the situation to the temper tantrum throwing ghost.

"We're not here to make fun of you!" he tried to shout over Myrtle's voice. "We just–!"

"Lies!" Myrtle shrieked and cried even louder. "LIES!"

The three students began their hasty retreat. Myrtle instead dove into the nearest toilet and like a tidal wave the water splashed from the lavatory seat. When standing outside the lavatory, clothes soaking wet, Ven, and even Scorpius couldn't held back their snickering.

"What are you laughing about?" Albus asked with a grimace and squeezed the water from his robes. "This isn't funny!"

"But did you hear her?" Scorpius laughed, wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes. He regained his composure just to lose it again by looking at frowning Albus. "Have you seen yourself? You look awful!"

Albus just looked away to hide his scorn and didn't speak a word on their way back to the dungeons.


	25. Chapter 25 Ambition

Chapter 5. Ambition

It was the beginning of the Christmas holidays at Hogwarts and the students who were going to spend their Christmas days elsewhere were leaving the grounds. Of the third year Slytherins only Scorpius was staying at the school, though Ven would have stayed, too, if Blaise hadn't told him in a letter to come home for the holidays.

"Have a nice holiday", Scorpius said brightly when Albus and Ven dragged their drunks to the gates.

Albus grinned. "I sure do." His family was going to spend Christmas in Romania. His uncle Charlie lived there, and he had promised they would go see dragons.

"I'll try to not kill myself", Ven mumbled under his breath. If Tracey Davis was going to spend the Christmas at the Zabini manor Ven would preferably poison himself. His little remark went unnoticed when he swiftly added: "You too, Malfoy."

Scorpius just waved when his best friends left.

Albus grinned, sitting across Ven and looking outside the window as the train began moving away from the Hogsmeade Station and towards London. Ven stared out the window as well but he didn't even notice the landscapes changing – he was thinking would this holiday be as horrid and boring as the previous ones. Last year Blaise had been out on Christmas Eve, and not because of work. And he had definitely not been alone, wherever he might have spent his night.

Ven couldn't help but hate Tracey Davis. If he could feed that woman to a dragon, that would be great. Albus smirked.

"I could send you a dragon egg from Romania", Albus said, noticing Ven's sullen expression after the darker skinned boy had mentioned his humble wish. "That would cheer you up!"

Ven smiled a little. "You do that. But remember father is an Auror. Dragons are…"

"My dad's an Auror, too! No biggie!" Albus laughed and hit Ven's knee dismissingly. "You know I've always wanted a dragon. This one time when James and I–"

* * *

Alistair was surprised when Theodore was the one to come pick him up from the King's Cross. Usually Ana was waiting for him at the Platform 9 ¾; she wanted to be the first to ask how the year had went and things like that. She was his mother, after all. Theodore wasn't as talkative as his wife, and he didn't share more than few casual greetings with Alistair before they get to Theodore's car.

"Where's mother?" Alistair asked when sitting on the front seat.

"She has to rest", Theodore said.

"Rest?" Alistair repeated. "Is she sick?"

Theodore laughed and nervously shook his head. "I truly hope not", he said and smiled at Alistair. "The thing is, Alistair, that you're going to be a big brother. Ana is… She's pregnant."

Alistair looked at his father and his eyes widened in surprise and shock. Ana Nott was pregnant. _His mother_ was _pregnant_.

When Theodore drove to their driveway Alistair, without a word, hurried inside the Nott house. He ran upstairs to his parents' bedroom. Ana was there; she sat on the bed, leaning to the bed post under the covers. In her hands was a muggle novel which she was reading aloud.

"–And then something seemed to change. Suddenly his lips became much more urgent, his free hand twisted into my hair and held my face securely to his. And, though my hands tangled in his hair, too, and though–"

She stopped reading when Alistair stepped in the room. She smiled faintly, unable to read her son's expression. "Sweetheart….?"

"Oh, mother", Alistair said and hugged his mother. Ana felt immediately relieved and petted Alistair's hair. Alistair smiled. "Do you know will it be a boy? Or a girl? Either one would be fine for me."

Ana laughed a little. "It'll be a girl", she said. "A tiny girl." She moved Alistair's hand to her grown stomach.

"So I'm going to get a little sister", Alistair whispered a smile still lingering on his face. He gasped at the sudden movement. "She kicked me!" he exclaimed. "Did you feel it, too? My sister kicked me!"

"Yes, I felt it", Ana chuckled. She had been worried about Alistair's reaction from the moment she had realized she was pregnant. She and Theodore hadn't planned having more than one child.

"When will she be born?" Alistair asked eagerly. He was excited. He was going to be a big brother.

"The Healer said in the end of March", Ana replied. "Possibly earlier." She smiled. "So your sister will be at home when your Easter holiday starts."

Alistair nodded. "Have you thought about her name?"

"Yes", Ana said and grinned. "But we want to keep it secret."

"From me, too?" Alistair asked with a frown.

"From everyone, dear", Ana told, getting up from the bed. "It'll be a surprise."

"Who are you going to invite to her name giving ceremony?" Alistair asked and followed Ana to the staircase.

"Well, your grandparents and my cousin. At least", Ana told. "Theodore said he doesn't want any of his relatives to attend. But some of my friends will be here for sure. Like Samantha, do you remember her?"

"That woman with the pet otter? I remember her." Alistair looked thoughtful for a moment. "Mother, would it be bad if I asked a friend to come over then?" Alistair asked uneasily. "Toby, and maybe Layla. They're my best friends and…"

"Of course you can, sweetheart", Ana replied with a smile. "Your friends are always welcome here. And I'm sure your sister will like them, too."

Alistair grinned. He was getting a sister. He could barely wait until the evening when he had time to write letter to Toby and tell the news.

* * *

At the Zabini manor Ven wasn't feeling as thrilled as Alistair was. The good mood he had been in was gone in the second he stepped into the manor hall with Tabby the House Elf who had brought him home from the King's Cross. Ven's father was there, waiting for his arrival, but he was not alone.

Tracey Davis was there.

And Blaise had his arm around her waist.

"Oh, hello, Ven_tus_", Tracey greeted. Her grey eyes were locked on Ven as her thin lips curled into a satisfied smirk. "I heard we're going to spend a lot of time together. Isn't it _wonderful_?"

Ven suppressed his sour thoughts with a sweet, yet fake smile. "The _pleasure_ is going to be all yours."

It was going to be a long holiday.

* * *

By the Christmas Eve, Theodore Nott had had enough. The Notts were having a late night dinner, and the atmosphere became more and more tense every minute.

"Alistair, put that book down", he finally said and placed his glass on the table.

Ana gave a sigh and turned to her husband. "Theodore…"

"It's not polite to read while eating", Theodore said sternly and didn't even glance at his wife. Instead he looked strictly at Alistair.

Alistair raised his eyes from the book. He knew he should be ashamed but the truth was that he wasn't. It wasn't the first time during the holiday when Alistair had brought a book to table, and it wasn't going to be the last. It was his third year already. His father should have understood that already.

"I need to study", Alistair said and waited for Theodore to object. The objection never came so Alistair continued. "Because I've… I've been thinking…" How would he tell it? He glanced at the Herbology book on the table.

"What have you been thinking, sweetie?" Ana asked encouragingly.

Alistair swallowed. "That I want to become a Healer after I graduate from Hogwarts."

There was an oppressive silence which felt like a small eternity.

"…Potions." Alistair and Ana turned to look at Theodore. "You need to get good grades from Potions as well." Theodore gave a small, but not forced, smile. "If it's a Healer you want to be?"

Alistair, after a moment of confusion, nodded and looked down on his lap. "Yes", he said, suddenly finding it hard to face either of his parents. "Is it okay to you…?"

Ana huffed loudly. "What are you saying? Of course it's okay to us! It's an honorable profession." She stood up and walked behind Alistair before hugging him tightly. "But remember, we would be proud of you even if you wanted to become an accountant or a truck driver. It's all about what you want to become."

Alistair looked at his father. It was hard to see what Theodore was thinking at the moment.

"Ana is right", Theodore said finally. "But I still don't want you to read while eating", he added. "I expect you to drop that habit, is that clear?"

It was more than clear. Alistair, when being freed from his mother's embrace, took the Herbology book from the table and placed it on the side table before he sat back down. He was ready to tune down his studying when having time with his family.

After all, his parents weren't against his dream.


	26. Chapter 26 Accident in the Class

Chapter 6. Accident in the Class

Ven was more than relieved when the Christmas holidays were over, but at least he had gotten a living miniature dragon from Romania.

Blaise had barely shrugged when Ven had mentioned he had become a chaser for the Slytherin Quidditch team. Ven didn't like to put on a show about it, even though he was quite proud of himself.

The team had, though, played only one game with the current lineup and it had been against the Gryffindor and their captain had become hospitalized during the game. Not to mention they had lost that game but that was the part he didn't mention.

There had been some benefit from Tracey Davis being around, too. Ven had gotten a new broom to replace his old one. _The Aerial Finish_, the upgraded version of the common _Aerial Sweep_, was the newest model on sale. Ven wanted to think it was sheer offer of a bribe but it came out quite clearly that Miss Davis wasn't only a Quidditch fan but she also seemed willing to actually try getting along with Ven.

Probably because she was keen to getting into his father's pants, Ven added bitterly. And on the top of that Ven hated when Davis hadn't tried to force him to spend a mother-son quality time with him.

So getting back to Hogwarts was cool.

* * *

The term continued, and as it was said, Alistair still wasn't feeling very confident in Care of the Magical Creatures. To be exact he disliked it more than any other classes. And there were reasons for it:

Firstly, it was the only of his classes to be held outside and usually the lessons didn't include books and essays.

Secondly, the most noisiest and inept students from all four houses had chosen the subject and he didn't find Hagrid the most competent professor to teach them.

And thirdly, it didn't help him achieve his dream to become a Healer.

Or that's what he thought.

The students were randomly paired up by Hagrid, and so Alistair couldn't rely on Toby. Each pair was given a weird sort of hybrid creature to examine. They were the size of a poodle and looked much like lizards, like salamanders or snakes, but there were patches of fur on their heads and backs and some of them had even spikes. They had four legs like Kneazels and very menacing teeth and claws. Despite their appearance they preferred hissing and growling at the students instead of attacking. In Hagrid's opinion they were shy and fragile creatures but Alistair found them not just sly and intelligent but also quite dangerous to be around.

The only thing Alistair wasn't sure should he be grateful was that his working partner preferred doing most the work by himself or annoyed that he wasn't being useful and learned practically nothing. He had a straight division of work with his pair – Alistair would stay aside and write down everything he finds important and keep out the way.

Of course he should have known working with a Slytherin would turn out like that.

And yes, he was working with Ven Zabini. Alistair huffed, scribbling on the corner of the parchment. At least he hadn't work with Potter or Flint but…

He was torn away from his thoughts by animalistic screech from one of the creatures. Zabini, not very gracefully, sat on the ground as their examination subject skittered to the Dark Forrest. Zabini let out a hiss as he moved the trouser leg to see the damage. It was clear to Alistair that the 'cute, harmless creature' had just bit or scratched his working partner. He immediately left his notes and went to look the wound.

Alistair couldn't see the damage because the Slytherin was holding his hand on it to stop the bleeding.

"Professor! Professor Hagrid!" Alistair yelled. The giant man came running and descended to the level of his students. He took a quick look of the wound.

"It ain't poisonous", Hagrid told and pulled a stained rag from one of his pockets. "No one hav'nt lost yer limbs during me class." He pressed a rag on the wounded leg. Zabini inhaled sharply and bit his lip. Alistair snatched the rag away from the professor.

"That can lead to an infection!" he exclaimed. What kind of idiots there were as teachers?

"Right. Go see Miss Perks", Hagrid said, sounding partly ashamed, and helped Zabini up. "Get yer leg checked. Nott will go with ye."

Alistair quickly stuffed his notes to his schoolbag and nodded at Hagrid. Zabini instead grimaced. He hadn't asked for help.

"I can walk on my own", he hissed at the Hufflepuff when Alistair grabbed his arm in order to keep him tripping. "I'm not crippled."

Alistair ignored his tone. "Don't set weight on it", Alistair said when the Slytherin tried walking on his own. Reluctantly Zabini accepted the help and hobbled to the hospital wing with the Hufflepuff.

Miss Perks, the Hogwarts' matron and nurse, took them in the infirmary and swiftly forced Zabini to sit down on one of the beds.

"It's not that serious", Zabini said forcedly through his gritted teeth. Miss Perks ignored his words completely and instead cut the pant leg to see the wound better. The wound wasn't bleeding anymore and the blood had dried but the wound itself was swollen and slightly purple.

"Oh my", Miss Perks said when she took a look at Ven's leg. "Accident at Hagrid's class, I suspect. Don't worry, dear, I've seen worse. It'll be as good as new."

She went to a cabinet to look for a medicine, leaving the students alone. That was when Alistair noticed he was sitting very close to Zabini as a result of Miss Perks forcing them to sit down, and he was still holding the Slytherin's arm to support him. But he didn't move from his spot. It felt nice to be close to someone. Alistair had never been that close to another boy, though, not to mention very attractive one the way he was at the moment. The boys of his dorm where all quite good looking but they were his friends, and actually more like brothers to him. He didn't look at them like that.

But Ven Zabini was indeed very attractive.

* * *

"Here you go", Miss Perks said brightly. "Spread it to the wound and rest."

She gave a small metallic can to Ven. The orange salve smelled horrible, like overcooked cabbage and rotten eggs. Ven took a little bit of it and immediately frowned. It was cold and resembled play-dough. His frown turned into a sneer. It definitely wasn't an enjoyable sensation when the salve touched the wound.

"Does it hurt that much?" Nott asked when Ven started spreading the salve further on his injured leg. Ven ignored the question. He had ignored the Hufflepuff's presence earlier and he wasn't going to pay attention on him now. That was apparently the wrong decision.

Nott rolled his eyes and grabbed the can from Ven and before Ven could complain he was sitting on the floor in front of the Slytherin and spreading salve to the wound. Ven gritted his teeth and almost kicked the Hufflepuff. Who the heck gave him a permission to touch?

"I don't need to be helped", he growled, trying to endure the pain.

"I know", Nott said, not looking Ven in the eye. "Now hold still."

Ven snorted at that. Hold still? How could he hold still if it hurt like hell? Ven held his breath when Nott with soft, circular motions continued rubbing the salve on the wound. The pain was lessening slowly. It didn't hurt so much anymore as the salve was warming up and taking effect. The wound was already closing. Nott looked very concentrated on his task.

Nott's hands felt weird on him. Weird and somehow good. His movements were tender but he certainly knew what he was doing. He was taking care of Ven, and that conjured up Ven's self-preservation instinct. It was a very foreign feeling to Ven, to feel that someone cared, even if was just Nott. Ven cleared his throat, he was starting to feel uncomfortable of the Hufflepuff's closeness. He had to ask Nott to stop.

"Hey…"

"Zabini!" Albus Potter chimed in and ran to the infirmary. "I heard you got bitten! Are you...?" He glanced at Nott who was kneeling in front of Ven. "_Oh_."

Nott stood up immediately and looked up at Ven. He opened his mouth to say something but seemed to change his mind on the last second and instead he quickly left the infirmary without a single word.

Albus had problems to decide should he grin or look baffled. "What did he want?" he asked anyway.

"Nothing", Ven said and stood up. He could set weight on his leg now though it felt quite uncomfortable. "He just helped me."

"Oh. You both just looked like I had interrupted something important", Albus said and tossed Ven's schoolbag to his friend. "Aaand we're being late from Charms."

"Mr Zabini won't be attending any classes today. He needs rest, Mr Potter", Miss Perks said, storming from her office. "Now, Mr Potter, if you could..."

"It's alright. I'll rest at the dorm", Ven said to Miss Perks. "Thank you."

"Don't exert yourself", Miss Perks said sternly. "The wound may open if you do." She took one last look of Ven's injured leg. "Though you've had luck. It's closing pretty well. And straight to your dorm you'll go. No classes." She gave the salve can to Ven. "Add it few times per day – at least when it starts to ache, and trust me, it will do that – until it's completely healed anyway."

Ven and Albus exited the hospital wing.

"Weren't you going to Charms?" Ven asked when his friend didn't turn towards the Charms class.

"I'm already late, I'll just skip it today", Albus told with a grin. He took the can from Ven and opened. "This stuff smells horrible!" he barked.

"I know", Ven snarled and snatched the can back, closing it tightly.

"Well, whatever. Hey, would you come with me to the lavatory?" Albus asked suddenly. "Now that you have a free lesson and all."

Ven grimaced. "To see Moaning Myrtle?" he snorted and gained an eager nod from Albus. "I think I have told you I had enough of her the last time we went there for the rest of my school years, thank you very much."

"Well, I'll go alone then", Albus said, sounding way too bright. As if he hadn't wanted Ven to join him after all "See yah later!"

Ven rolled his eyes to Albus' eagerness to make friends with the ghost and continued his way to the dungeons.

He got back to their dorm when the leg had started aching, just like Miss Perks had said. Ven opened the can and the horrid smell filled his nostrils. He exhaled sharply when the salve came to contact with the skin. It hurt more than he remembered and felt more uncomfortable when he had to do it on his own.

But surely he could do it on his own. Surely..

* * *

In the Hufflepuff common room Alistair was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace.

"He was doing it wrong!" Alistair muttered, vigorously waving his hands and trying to keep calm. "He would've had that wound till next week if I hadn't do it for him!"

That thought didn't really help him.

"I was just being friendly!" he exclaimed, reassuring himself about it. Yes, he had to admit he found Ven Zabini very attractive – he has prominent features, beautiful hazel eyes, long eyelashes… Alistair shook his head. "I…! I don't have crush on him! I thought Kerr is handsome, too! Stop messing with me, brains!"

He groaned, completely frustrated by the situation. He was currently skipping his Defense Against the Dark Arts class and his friends probably wondered where he was. But the class should be over soon. Maybe if he would just go to the lunch and forget what happened earlier…

Alistair turned to leave to the Great Hall but he halted when he noticed he wasn't alone.

There was Lysander Scamander, standing at the barrel hole, his blue eyes twinkling. Alistair stared at the younger student, flushing furiously, unsure what to do.

"How long have…? I mean, when did you…?"

Lysander gave him a serene smile. "I didn't hear anything. Though you probably want to do something to those Wrackspurts."

With those words Lysander walked to first year boys' dorm and left baffled Alistair to wonder how much the younger student had actually heard.


	27. Chapter 27 Thalia

Chapter 7. Thalia

"Again!" Albus Potter wasn't sure should he cry or laugh as the three Slytherins walked back to the castle from the Quidditch stands. "How can it be that Gryffindor won _again_?!"

The match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff had ended in Hufflepuff's loss and when Albus had seen the victorious look on James Potter's face he had immediately became the most frustrating person ever.

Scorpius shrugged. "The new seeker perhaps? I never knew Parker was into Quidditch."

Gennifer Parker was on their year, a fiery girl as Ven her remembered. She hadn't played in the first game of the year which had been Gryffindor against Slytherin. Gryffindors had won that game, too, as Ven very well remembered. Though Slytherins had won against Ravenclaw later, the Gryffindorks had already ensured their hold of the Quidditch Cup. Of course they would have to play against the Claws in the end of March but the possibility that the Ravenclaws would beat the Gryffindors by over three hundred points was way too far-fetched.

Albus groaned loudly. "And now I owe seven sickles to Turner!"

"That's what you get from making bets", Ven said. "You already lost two galleons last week to Bulstrode when you sneaked a Niffler into the girls' dorm and got caught."

"Not to mention you got a detention", Scorpius added.

"And your mother sent you a Howler."

"Thanks for the reminder, guys", Albus snorted. "You were supposed to be on _my_ side!"

"But we are on _your_ side", Ven said. "You just have managed to get yourself in trouble without us, which is a pretty much a good thing."

He glanced at his leg and mentally grimaced at the memory of Albus suggesting they would let the _Knoackers_ – that was the name Hagrid had given to the creatures they had examined earlier in spring – to run freely in the Greenhouse 2. He had no intentions to willingly approach those creatures. Of course he had completely able to walk after a day of resting after he had been bit by a Knoacker but his mind has already been made.

"Are you going to stay at Hogwarts over the Easter holidays?" Scorpius asked, chancing the topic.

"I prefer staying at Hogwarts over going home anytime", Ven told bitterly. Scorpius nodded at that and looked at Albus. Albus shook his head.

"Sadly I have to leave you for those days", he groaned. "It's a pity that I must attend my dear cousin Vicky's –and ye old Teddy's– engagement party and tolerate their constant cuddling and kissing and–"

"We got the picture", Ven snorted and rolled his eyes to emphasize the point.

"–practically eating each other's faces while grandma keeps asking how many children they're going to have…"

* * *

The Easter holiday began and Alistair more than eagerly wanted return home. After all, he would see his little sister for the very first time. And wasn't she the cutest little baby he had ever seen, although Alistair hadn't seen many infants in his life.

And albeit the young Miss Nott was barely two months old she had shown her family that she could be rather persuasive. It was either her adorable babbling or deafening cries that ordered the Notts around. Though Alistair loved his newborn sister, the wizard who had invented silencing charms was his hero.

Toby and Layla, who both had gotten permissions from their families to attend the name giving ceremony, would spend couple days at the Leaky Cauldron before moving to the Nott house for the rest of the holiday. It was Friday when Alistair and his father came to pick them up.

The ride to Bexley was over rather quickly as the three Hufflepuffs talked about the upcoming weekend. Toby and Layla were already planning the little girl's future even though they hadn't yet met her.

"…and when she'll be older we'll teach her to play Quidditch!" Toby exclaimed and his lips curled up into a wide grin as they talked about the newest addition of the Nott family.

"I rather doubt that", said Theodore coldly from the driver's seat. The three Hufflepuffs silenced, though Alistair had problems to suppress his laughter. It had been only a matter of time before his father would have told them to shut up.

"Is it really okay that we're here?" Toby muttered when they exited the car in the front yard of the Nott house. "Your dad didn't seem too happy about it."

Alistair grinned. "That's because he isn't." When noticing Toby's frown he continued: "Mother just didn't really mention I had invited anyone. And he's not fond to Quidditch."

Layla looked around the open hallway and pointed at the both directions. "Is the bathroom…?"

"Last door on the left", Alistair said. Layla gave a smile.

"Okay, thanks."

After Layla was gone Toby let their luggage to the floor. He couldn't believe Layla had dragged all her schoolbooks with her and never told Toby about that. After all Toby had even suggested he would carry her bag, too. It was a holiday for the Merlin's sake!

"Where we'll sleep?" he asked, stretching his arms.

"In my room", Alistair replied simply.

"Yeah, I got that much but…" Toby scratched his head as if the situation was more than awkward. "I mean just… You know, with Layla or…?"

The understanding dawned on Alistair. He chuckled and patted his friends shoulder. "We turned my father's study room into a spare bedroom for her", he told brightly. "She won't be sleeping with us. Don't worry."

Toby turned away to hide his reddening cheeks. "I knew that…"

* * *

The Easter holiday had proceeded slowly. The Slytherin common room was full of groups of students who hadn't returned home and had nothing better to do than hang around in the dungeons. Ven had just finished reading a chapter from _Dream Oracle_ and decided taking a small break. He stretched his arms and turned then curiously towards his blonde friend.

"Who are you writing to?" Ven asked and interrupted Scorpius' furious scribbling.

Scorpius bit his quill and didn't meet Ven's eyes. "To Rose", he replied simply and wrote few words more. "I'm asking if she would come to Hogsmeade with me before Gryffindor's game against Ravenclaw."

"Like… as a date?" Ven asked though he knew the answer.

Scorpius turned bright pink. "Yes..."

Ven's lips curled upwards. "That's cool."

Scorpius blinked, confused. He had had no idea Ven would even that supportive. Albus would have thrown a fit of rage when Scorpius would have mentioned him he was going to ask Rose on a date. Ven and Scorpius returned back to their silence for a moment before Scorpius asked:

"Are you going one a date?"

Ven merely raised a brow. "With who?"

"I don't know." Scorpius shrugged and folded the letter. "With someone."

"I'm not interested in anyone", Ven scoffed and rolled his eyes. He opened the divination textbook again to start another chapter. He wasn't going to spend his time thinking about dates. "Why should I go out on a date with someone I'm not interested in?" he added.

"For fun", Scorpius said. "I don't think Albus likes Cynthia, either, and yet they went to Hogsmeade together before Christmas. You should try it for once."

Ven didn't bother to continue the conversation. Why should he go on a date? For fun, Scorpius said. It wouldn't be fun if you didn't want it. But maybe someday, with someone he liked.

Then it would be fun.

* * *

Ana Nott sat on the armchair in the middle of the Nott living room, holding the small bundle that was no other than her daughter. Most of the quests had gathered around them, being unable to resist the little girl's charm. The lively chattering had filled the room and so Alistair and Toby could had a conversation without anyone else paying any attention on them.

"Thalia Christina" Toby said, tasting the name. "That's a cute name, actually. Girly and… you know. Fits her." He and Alistair were standing further away whereas Layla was among the quests watching little Thalia from the close distance. Alistair smiled like a proud older brother until Toby's question took him off guard. "By the way what's your middle name, 'Listair?"

"My name?" Alistair repeated. "Nah, it's nothing special", he added dismissingly.

"What? You can tell me, I won't laugh", Toby said with a smirk. "After all my parents decided that my second name is Plutarch so you can't have stupider name than that."

Alistair grimaced. "It's just…"

"Alistair Cantankerus Nott!"

"Oh please no…"

A tall, scrawny woman with a nose like hawk's beak strutted towards them. She was old and her face was wrinkled, her hair was thin and almost white, and fingernails painted Slytherin green. Alistair held back the urge to run away. The woman's gaze was hard.

"That's not a way to greet", she almost shrieked. "Where. Are. Your. _Manners_!"

"Pleasure to have you here, Aunt Joselyn", Alistair squeaked, feeling uncharacteristic urge jinx someone. Namely Joselyn Nott. He wasn't even sure was the elderly witch his great aunt, or perhaps his great great great aunt.

"And who might you be?" the witch asked, looking at Toby with disdain.

"Me?" Toby pointed at himself. "I'm Toby Jones."

"Never heard of you", the witch scoffed. "Are you a mud-blood? Or a half-blood? Because most seriously you can't be a pure-bloo–"

"Joselyn!" Alistair let out a sigh of relief when Theodore appeared to the living room and gained the witch's attention. "When did you arrive?" His question sounded more like a death threat.

"Well, what time from you to show up, Theodore", she replied as menacingly. "I've been here for quite some time. Shall we?" She beckoned they would go outside and reluctantly they left the living room. Alistair took a deep breath.

"I don't think my father invited her", he said finally.

"And she's actually related to you?" Toby snorted. "Does she even know you're a Hufflepuff?" Alistair shook his head vigorously. "That would have explained..."

Toby silenced suddenly. He turned his head towards the laughter and it took a moment from Alistair to figure what had filled Toby's short attention span.

"She is so cute! Look how tiny little fingers she has!" Layla cooed with wonder and enthusiasm. Her eyes were actually shining which made Alistair more than happy of his decision to ask Layla come over.

"Do you want to hold her?" Ana asked and when Layla nodded, she without a second thought handed the baby to Layla. "Support the neck, dear."

"Hi, there little one", Layla said to the baby, and she laughed when Thalia laughed back at her.

"Layla's so good with children", Toby said with a smile and crossed his arms proudly.

Alistair just chuckled at that. Layla joined them about a half an hour later, smiling widely, and Toby just had to ask how did she get along with children so well. After all, Toby himself had a plenty of younger cousins but after one time when he had supposed to look after them and everything had went so horribly wrong he had been grounded for weeks he hadn't had to babysit anyone anymore.

"I'm used to it", Layla told brightly. "I look after Frank at the Longbottoms. He's a lot of work. He's two now but–"

"Wait a sec, Lellie!" Toby raised his hand. "Our Herbology Professor has kids…?"

"Only one at the moment", Layla corrected him. "And I think they're not planning to have more though Hannah insists…"

Toby stared at her, dumbfounded.

"So you mean professors _can_ actually have kids?" he exclaimed. "I thought they must be _sterile_ or something!"


	28. Chapter 28 Encounter, Action!

Chapter 8. Encounter, Action!

It was a sunny Saturday morning and sleeping in was one of the greatest opinions ever given to students after a week of hard-work.

Of course, not to everyone.

"Hogsmeade, Hogsmeade, Hogsmeade!" Chastity squealed, running down the High Street of Hogsmeade. Toby rolled his eyes and didn't even try to suppress a groan. It could be said Miss Chastity Jones knew how to be persuasive, and so the seven Hufflepuffs had left the Hogwarts Castle to spend their day in the village of Hogsmeade. Chastity was, actually, the only one of the third year badgers who had, for various reasons, skipped all the previous Hogsmeade weekends and had had her boyfriend William – yes, they had been together the whole year – to buy her everything she had asked for. She was overexcited of finally being able to visit all the shops she had heard of.

Her eyes widen and she enthusiastically pointed at the shop where the piles of candies shone like gold and silver in a treasure chest before sprinting towards it and screaming in her most high-pitched voice: "Honeydukes!"

Alistair suppressed his laughter.

"Let's go before she buys the shop empty", Toby said with an annoyed huff. "I want some liquorice wands."

Jeremiah shook his head. "I think I'll pass", he said. "Have to go to Tomes and Scrolls and buy some stuff from the Joke Shop…" The others stared at him dubiously. "Fine, I'm on a diet. Happy now?"

"Don't worry, mate, I won't be buying any either", William said and patted his friend on the back. "I'll come with you to Zonko's."

"Well, what about your girlfriend?" Layla asked, cocking a single eyebrow.

"She can handle herself", William stated nonchalantly. "See you at the castle. Let's go JP."

"So, I guess it's just you and me now, Layla", Toby said with a smile when William and Jeremiah were out from their hearing range.

"And Liz and Mary", Layla added.

Toby's smile faltered. "Oh, yeah. They are here too…"

* * *

At the Hogwarts Castle Scorpius was leaving for his Hogsmeade date which he had been waiting for the past days.

"I promised to meet Rose at Puddifoot's", he told and smiled brightly at Albus and Ven. "I'll see you later. Wish me luck."

"Good luck", Ven said. "Have fun."

Albus just snorted with sour expression when the brains of their group went his merry way. Ven sighed and glanced at Albus.

"Now, would you tell me why are you so strongly against Scorpius being with Rose?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked about it", Albus snarled and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms.

"Because she's your cousin? Or because she's a Gryffindor?" Ven tried. "Or because she has mudblood in her veins?"

"Hey, don't pull Auntie Mione into this, okay?"

"Okay, sorry. Then why?"

Albus groaned. "Because can't you see it? Rose is _not_ his type, okay!" he exclaimed. "Damn, Scorp's not even Rose's type, either! Why can't they just see it already?" He ran his fingers through the mess of black hair. "I can't go and give my blessing to them if I know their so-called relationship is going to end up in tears!"

Ven merely stared at Albus who theatrically expressed his opinion quite verbally and theatrically waving his hands in the air.

"And now, if you excuse me, I'll go to the lavatory to pour my heart out." Albus sniffed before smirking like he had remembered something important. "Oh! And bring me some chocolate from Hogsmeade. No dark chocolate and nothing with nuts."

Ven scoffed. "I'm not some delivery boy."

"Watch your mouth or I'll tell Sarida you use a secret passageway always after Potions lessons so you don't have to confront her", Albus said, his smirk widening. "She would be delighted."

"That's blackmailing!" Ven exclaimed, his eyes comically widening in horror. He had been avoiding the Gryffindor girl the whole year but she had been very persistent.

Albus hummed. "Nope, that's negotiating. I have things to do so do we have a deal now?"

* * *

"Isn't it the badgers?"

Alistair, Toby, Layla, Chastity, and Mary had just exited The Three Broomsticks where they had went after touring several shops; they had even went to Honeydukes twice because Chastity had forgot to buy Drooble's Best Blowing Gum

Luke Corner, and his cronies Emmett Darcy and Leon Flannery, stood in front of the inn, blocking the street from them. Corner smirked widely. "All alone in the big scary Hogsmeade", he cooed like he was talking to a baby and Emmett snickered at his tone.

Even Eliza Redmond, a pretty Ravenclaw girl from their year, was there with them, though she was easily hidden behind Emmett's bulkier frame. No one knew when she had dropped her standards so low that she hanged around with Corner's gang.

"Shut your mouth, Corner", Chastity hissed, not sounding particularly happy to see the Ravenclaw, but she tried to stay calm which was a hard task for her.

"We don't want a brawl", Layla added, trying to sound nice. Alistair nodded in agreement.

"'We don't want a brawl'! Nerdie can shut her pretty mouth" Corner spat, making Layla's ears redden. "Not so tough outside the classroom, are you, Puffs?" He smirked at Toby and Emmett let out an amused snort. They hadn't really fought since the last year if they didn't count the mutual pestering and name calling. And the few jinxes when the teachers' didn't see. But this time Toby immediately drew his wand, pointing first at Luke, then at Emmett.

"Want to try?" he snarled. Making fun of Layla was his Achilles' heel and that was exactly what Corner had done.

Corner didn't take time answering the question but fired a spell towards the Hufflepuffs. "_Melofors_!"

Layla casted a swift _Shield Charm_ to protect Toby and Alistair and Mary swiftly moved to the background, even though both of them had drawn their wands as well. Chastity let out a maniacal shriek and snapped out of her peaceful haze, her wand was drawn and she shot a nasty jinx towards the Ravenclaws, missing Corner by inches.

The street became a battlefield fuelled by the feud between the two of the most peaceful of the Hogwarts Houses. Each whish, each flick of a wand caused bursts of light as the spells were fired. Toby enclosed Emmett in a duel, an old grudge guiding their actions as the easy jinxes were left behind and became replaced by more serious hexes. Layla was busy trying to handle Leon and occasionally glancing how the others were doing and only finding herself to grow more and more concerned about the possible outcome. Eliza, though alone, battled against Alistair and Mary whose teamwork – Alistair shielding and Mary firing spells – was undisturbed by the others around them.

Chastity, as skilled dueler as she was, was at a disadvantage against Corner. The Ravenclaw flicked his wand and Chastity's wand slipped from her hand and flew across the street. The duels between the others halted when Corner let out a victorious yell:

"Not so tough now, squib-girl, are you?!"

Layla immediately moved and tried to grab Chastity's arm but the furious girl escaped from her reach. "Chas, you shouldn't", Layla tried to calm her friend down. Chastity didn't even glance at her.

"Shut it, Lelliekins. I can do this like a dude." She marched straight towards the now laughing group of Ravenclaws. Corner grinned at her.

"What? Hadn't you got enough…?"

BAM.

There were gasps from all around the sides. The Ravenclaws were no longer laughing. It was so obscene, like the first year over again. Only this time Luke Corner was on the ground, holding his bleeding nose and staring at Chastity his mouth gaping open instead of hiding his blistering face. It took a moment before any of the Ravenclaws really reacted to what had happened. Chastity waved her hand, a quite proud smirk on her face.

"Squib way, _bitch._"

Emmett drew his wand again and fired a _Stunning Spell_ at her. What happened next instead was blurred. The duel continued, more ferocious than before Chastity's right hook had found Corner's nose.

* * *

On the other side of Hogsmeade Ven was blissfully unaware of the duel between Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. His satchel – no matter how many times Albus keeps on calling it a 'man purse' Ven claims it's a satchel, and damn stylish one – full of both blackmailing and bribing chocolates for his certain classmates hung on his left shoulder as the Slytherin walked away from the Honeydukes to return to the castle. Ven didn't really care about Hogsmeade but occasional visits brought some sort of change for his daily routine of thinking too much... stuff. Like school and how to avoid attention from a certain girl from Gryffindor.

What drew his attention away from his tranquil state of mind was sudden, awful feeling of being watched. He swiftly turned around to see a glimpse of a mop of dark hair and bright blue eyes disappearing behind a corner. Ven rolled his eyes.

"Rosier? What are you doing?" he asked dully when reaching the corner.

The pale Slytherin girl puffed her cheeks and glared at Ven before a faint blush made its way to her cheeks. "Shut the eff up, Zabini, I'm stalking…"

Ven cocked his brow. "Your stalking tendencies never cease to amaze me", he crooned sarcastically.

"Shut it, tosser", Rosier spat, sounding more embarrassed than angry.

"Who are you stalking this time?" Ven asked, waving off Rosier's halfhearted insult. "Cross and Flint? Jealous much?" The on-off couple of Slytherin was having their date in Hogsmeade and Ven wouldn't have been surprised if Rosier had bluntly told him that was exactly why she was there.

But Acacia Rosier's eyes just widened in shock, as if Ven had just slapped her. She recovered quickly though and growled lowly at Ven, baring her pearl-white teeth:

"You know nothing about me."

She grabbed Ven from his collar and pulled him behind the corner, giving Ven no time at all to react what was coming. And then, Rosier crashed their lips violently together.

* * *

The street was crammed full of onlookers. Corner's nose was still dramatically bleeding and it was three times as big as usually. Toby instead had taken in several jinxes and he wouldn't probably recognize himself when looking at the mirror. Alistair wasn't even sure what kind of spell had hit Leon but the bespectacled was on his hands and knees on the sidewalk but he couldn't stop vomiting. If it could have even been called vomiting when someone throws up a glittery mess anyway.

Chastity had retrieved her wand during the duel and for the love of Merlin she swirled it like was the last day of her life and it was clear she was in such a rage and in a spur of the moment she couldn't care less who she hit. The people of Hogsmeade, as well as few other students, who were watching had to duck and dodge several spells before anyone even tried to stop the fighting.

"You kids stop that right now!"

The fighting ceased immediately and Layla and Emmett who had fell down because of _Jelly-Legs Jinx _and _Tarantallegra_ respectively muttered counter curses and got up.

The senior citizen with red robes and a graying ponytail scampered through the crowd and made a simple incantation that made Leon stop vomiting and marched in the middle of the scene, wearing a disappointed expression on his wrinkled face. Alistair swallowed. He had seen the man before, in his father's study room when he had been a lot younger.

An Auror. The man wasn't just any avuncular old man but an Auror.

"Move along, nothing to see here", the man grumbled and slowly the people left the scene, whispering about ill-mannered brats and how Hogwarts should handle the situation. "Not you kids", the man continued sharply when Emmett tried to sneak away.

His gaze was relentless and Alistair felt a disgusting, cold shiver run up his spine. "We'll be going back to Hogwarts. We'll see what your Headmistress has to say about this fiasco."

The students glanced at each other, a panic rising amongst them.

"We're in trouble..."


	29. Chapter 29 Aftermath

Chapter 9. Aftermath

The kiss between two Slytherins was absolutely awkward. Ven was barely responsive and not just because of the shock caused by Rosier's actions. The whole affair felt so terribly wrong and sickening he felt like puking his guts out the moment Rosier tried to use her tongue. She distantly tasted like something overly sweet and Ven's lips became sticky with lip gloss.

And when Rosier finally pulled away, she wiped her mouth on her sleeve and sneered. Ven stared at her, dumbfounded, disgusted, and unable to form words. Rosier smacked her lips.

"Well, aren't you just the best kisser around", she crooned, mimicking Ven's sarcastic tone from the earlier. Ven's brows furrowed as he continued staring at her. The most of him wanted to shout at her from the bottom of his heart but the other, small part of him just wanted to go cry in a corner. A part of him that felt… violated.

Just one quiet, simple word without useless stuttering came out: "Why…?" He didn't feel like himself when asking it. He wasn't weak like this. He should have kissed Acacia Rosier back and gone with the flow. He was over-thinking this. He shouldn't be thinking…! Ven stared at the ground.

"I just wanted to try it out", Rosier said. She sounded almost shy. She was silent for a moment before she continued icily: "And you were seriously asking for it. I haven't seen you been even relatively interested in any girl."

Ven's breathing hitched. "I just…" Ven turned his eyes to meet Acacia's cold glare. "It shouldn't concern you who I'm interested in." He's voice was strained but he hoped Rosier wouldn't notice the difference.

Rosier sneered and her brows furrowed. "I'm hundred times better than some Rai from Gryffindor!" she spat venomously. "You get that, right?!" Ven didn't reply. He just wanted to get away. But Rosier hadn't finished yet. "Do you even understand what you're putting me through?" she asked and stared at Ven as she spoke. Her tone was dangerously low.

"No, I don't understand", Ven said finally, trying to keep his cool even though Rosier was seriously starting to get on his nerves. Rosier was silent for once.

She stared at Ven, blankly. "Bu-but you…"

"And I don't really care."

That was when Rosier broke down from her blankness. "But_ I_ like _you_!" she cried out from the bottom of her lungs. "I _like_ you! Can't you see it! _Fuck_!"

There were tears rolling down her cheeks. Ven gritted his teeth. He was the one who wanted to cry. Rosier had used _him_. She had used him and kissed him because of her selfish reasons. And Ven didn't like being used. And even less he wanted to be the object of either Rosier or Rai's affections. The feeling of being violated had retreated to the back of mind and been replaced by anger and frustration.

It didn't take much to force his legs to move. Rosier had slumped on the ground and she was furiously wiping away her tears, whimpering loudly. But after last glance Ven didn't pay any attention on her. She had dug her own hole.

* * *

_Four Ravenclaws._

_Five Hufflepuffs._

Headmistress Ambrosine Blanchard had already heard what had happened. Her solemn expression gave away nothing as she looked at the students that had been brought to her office from Hogsmeade not even ten minutes ago. But she most certainly wasn't pleased. Who would be? Most of the Hogwarts staff had gathered in the Headmistress's office. Wylie Buttonpress looked as nervous as Filius Flitwick looked disappointed. Of all the students in the school there were Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs waiting for their punishment. That was most certainly unexpected.

"Which one of you would like to tell me what happened in Hogsmeade?" Headmistress asked. Her voice was perfectly blank but her eyes were piercing as she looked at each and every one of the teenagers in front of her.

The students stayed quiet. None of them dared to say a word. Professor Blishwick instead seemed to have a lot to say though it was clear that she tried to hold her tongue.

"Fighting in the streets like some hooligans", she spat. "Embarrassing the school"

Mary, who stood next to Alistair, flinched visibly. Embarrassing the school was exactly what they had done. They could be expelled! Alistair looked nervously around. The others seemed to have realized the same thing. The Headmistress sighed as none of the students were clearly going to say anything.

"It was mere luck that Mr. Williamson happened to be there", she said and beckoned the Auror. "And that we were spared from the _greater_ damage."

Miss Perks snorted at that. She had used a half an hour making sure the spells used in the duel hadn't made any permanent harm and using several counter jinxes and hexes alongside with Professor Prosper.

"This is your fault", Corner hissed at Chastity. Chastity just growled in response.

"But", Blanchard continued. "I have to owl your parents anyway." Of course she would owl their parents. It wasn't a surprise; it was expected. "And as a punishment…"

Alistair squeezed his eyes shut. Here it comes. They're going to be expelled.

"You'll all have detentions till the summer holiday every Saturday."

_What…?_

"You won't be allowed to go to Hogsmeade anymore during this term."

Alistair slowly opened his eyes and released the he didn't realize he had been holding.

"And I'll have to take 70 points from each of you. You are now free to go."

* * *

Albus had sat outside the castle for the better part of the hour, waiting for either Scorpius or Ven to come back from Hogsmeade and keep him company. Myrtle had once again kicked him out the lavatory but he had gotten used to it. He would just try again the next day. When he finally saw Ven – he had been quite sure that Ven would indeed return first – he stood up and began walking towards his friend.

Albus smiled brightly. "Did you–? Oh." His smile dropped when he saw hostility in Ven's glare. "So you did." It wasn't a question. "Didn't go so well, I see."

"So you planned it." Ven's voice was unnaturally strained, not stopping to chat with Albus. Albus followed him and sighed loudly.

"I _helped_ to plan it. There's a difference."

"There's no difference to me."

Ven stopped walking as soon as he noticed Albus didn't follow him anymore. "…are you mad at me?" Albus asked. His brows had knit together; worried expression didn't suit him at all. Ven shook his head.

"No. I'm not." He wasn't mad at Albus even though the younger Potter brother had schemed with Rosier. It just didn't feel right. "It doesn't matter. Just don't set me up like that anymore."

"I just had a chat with Scorp and we thought it would be good for you to go out with someone once in a while", Albus said. He was more relaxed again and catching up with Ven who had continued walking towards the castle doors. "And I knew Rosier likes you."

Ven sneered. "Well, I didn't."

"You… didn't?" Albus snorted and burst into a fit of uncontrollable snickers. "It was so obvious! Didn't you really –?"

"I._ Didn't_", Ven hissed, annoyed of Albus laughing at him.

"Merlin's pants, man, you're _blind_."

When they stepped into the Entrance Hall, the room was swarming with students. The noise around was almost deafening.

"What's going on here?" Albus asked from a Slytherin prefect who was closest to them. The girl pointed at the other end of the room, grinning.

"Something's happened to the House points", she said over the noise. And it was true. Both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw hourglasses had only few jewels on the bottom whereas Gryffindor and Slytherin ones were almost full.

Albus whistled. "Looks like someone has screwed up and badly."

Ven nodded in agreement.

"Well, it seems like Gryffindor is taking both House Cup _and_ Quidditch Cup this year", Albus continued glumly but perked up visibly and continued: "Oh, and you still have that chocolate I asked for?"

* * *

Toby fell on his bed in the Hufflepuff dormitory. William and Jeremiah hadn't returned yet which was a good thing Alistair would have been too exhausted to explain anything. From what they had heard in the common room most of the students already knew about the reduced points. And they weren't very happy about it. After all, Hufflepuff had been second to Gryffindor.

"Holy shit", Toby said. "I can't believe it…"

Alistair shrugged. "Could be worse."

"That's exactly what I was thinking about!" Toby groaned and sat up, throwing his hands up in frustration. "They're going easy on us! For a moment I thought that old hag was going to _expel_ us!"

"We're lucky she didn't but we still have detentions to attend", Alistair said quietly. The whole punishment had hit Layla and Mary much harder than him or Toby. Chastity instead was on Corner's throat the moment they had exited Blanchard's office and she had been dragged down to the basement.

"My parents are gonna freak out", Toby laughed dryly.

"Mine are too", Alistair admitted. He was afraid to even think what kind of bitch fit his father would throw when he comes back home.

"Well, no matter what–" Toby jumped on Alistair bed and ruffled his friends hair. "–we're going through this together, right? Detentions got nothing on us!"

Alistair couldn't help but laugh.

END OF THE THIRD YEAR


	30. Chapter 30 Bonus: Where's my letter?

Chapter 10. Bonus: Where's my Hogwarts letter?

Lame ending for the third year… I'm so sorry. But hopefully the fourth will be worth waiting for because I'm going to put this story on hiatus for sometime because of the Quidditch League.

But yeah. This is an info-chapter, if it can be called that, so feel free to skip.

But as always I want to at least thank you all who have read, commented, favourited, followed, or just put my story to their bookmarks or something like that. Thank you! I'm going to say that in the end of every year so you can't forget how much I love you all.

* * *

This chapter will mostly be some random crap like always. And this will be short.

I wanted to bring the Scamander twins into this! Lysander Scamander being a Hufflepuff was a sure decision from the moment I decided on bringing him into this story. He's an observer. And I didn't even really use him… And Lorcan was just mentioned. Sniff. I love them both though.

My poor Alistair instead is confused. That's pretty much it. So much confusion. But hey, I gave him a little sister! Itty bitty Thalia Nott, loved by everyone. She'll be such a spoiled princess. Then there was Aunt Joselyn. Don't ask me, she just appeared. I don't really know what business she had with Theodore. But who cares! …I don't. Mama Ana was reading_ Twilight_ (or was it _New Moon_?) to her tummy. She has a weird taste in literature. And before I forget… Even though it was just very slightly implied/hinted Alistair seems to prefer broomsticks over chambers.

AND JEAN KERR IS A GODDAMN GORGEUS BASTARD!

…I don't regret saying that.

GRYFFINDORS WON THE HOUSE CUP! James probably couldn't look at Albus without grinning like crazy. Myrtle is a badass and Albus likes her company (There is this side-story about them, if you like spoilers...) Rose had her date with Scorpius, nothing more about that. They have become quite close but… Nah.

Luke Corner and his gang are what they are. I actually really like Luke but for some reason he acts like an asshole. He can be really sweet, I think. Maybe I'll write a side-story about him later. Chastity hates his guts, if that wasn't already clear then now it is. Call it a love-hate relationship if you want. Or a hate-hate relationship, which is actually quite accurate.

Ven got bitten by a Knoacker but he didn't even lost a limb. He visited girls' lavatory and didn't get caught. He was kissed by Rosier and not by Sarida. And Albus sent him a miniature dragon! His problems are so small... Ven is so awkward, I feel like karma is going to kick him later. No spoilers though. Tracey Davis tries to be a good guy here but well… Ven still doesn't like her. Maybe they'll start getting along someday. And yes, Rosier likes Ven. Albus knows, and now so does Ven. The kiss between them just happened. I hadn't planned it! Acacia just does what she wants.

I don't usually reply to comments but since it has been asked more than once… I like to call it 'The Ven Dilemma' and it's about Ven choosing between Acacia Rosier and Sarida Rai. I don't want to tell the answer (I have already decided the most of the couples for this story), so you'll see when it comes to it, but I'm actually quite eager to know _who do you think_ will eventually win his heart? I don't even understand why Ven is so popular…

Leave a comment! 3

* * *

But as I said, this story will go to hiatus because I'm busy with the Quidditch League. I will be back with this story as soon as I can. Which is… probably in the end of the month? Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Hoddie out.


	31. Chapter 31 A Very Special Year

HoodedSpellcaster is proud to present THE FOURTH YEAR in her story 'SLYTHERIN PRIDE, HUFFLEPUFF PREJUDICE'.

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you ALL who have favourited and reviewed this story. It means a lot for me even if it doesn't seem like it. About the story: There won't be regular updates (though I try to post a new chapter at least once in two weeks) during the fourth year. I hope you'll still tag along and enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter or anything related to it. Recognizable characters and parts of Harry Potter storyline belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros. respectively. I don't make any profit by writing this. Thank you.

* * *

Chapter 1. A Very Special Year

Mrs Zabini was a strong, independent woman. She wasn't tied to anything or anyone. She had never been and would ever be. Young Ven, her only grandson, was used to spend his summers in the luxurious mansion with her. Mrs Zabini though didn't actually spend time with him, except when she took him out to the special galas, or when she had simply enjoyed a little too much wine. Ven was closer with the Italian witch than he was with his mother's parents but that didn't mean he really liked being in Italy where it was scorching hot all the time. Blaise was determined that it was for Ven's best to have time with Mrs Zabini and get used to Italy's society.

It was the summer of 2013. Five year old Ven was very curious, as curious as a little child could be, though a little intimidated by the old witch. He spied from the door to the spacious living room where his grandmother talked with her friend, another old and well-known witch of her age. Mrs Zabini's friend was round-faced and short, very gentle looking and always a little tipsy witch. She was sipping wine from a tea cup when she noticed Ven and pointed his presence out to Mrs Zabini.

"That's my grandson over there", Mrs Zabini said, smiling ever so slightly when noticing the child. "Ventus, come here to meet Nonna's friend."

Shyly Ven opened the door, closed it behind himself, and scampered to the table where two witches sat. Mrs Zabini took the boy on her lap and smiled. She smelled distantly like red wine and expensive perfume and Ven was used to it.

"Say hello to Katrina, Ventus", the witch said. "She is an old friend of mine."

"Sa-salve, Signora Katrina", Ven stuttered and managed to give a hesitant smile. "Lieto di ve-vederla."

Katrina laughed her bubbly laugh and reached to pinch Ven's cheek. Ven rubbed his reddening cheek as soon as the tiny witch let go of it. "How charming", she said brightly and took another sip of wine. "Very charming indeed. Makes me want to fall in love again."

Mrs Zabini, shaking her head with a scoff, repeated: "Fall in love?"

Katrina smiled. "If I was 60 years younger, then yes."

Ven looked up to meet with Mrs Zabini's eyes. "Love?" he asked, his hazel eyes wide. He liked the idea of love. His parents didn't use the word often but from what he had heard it was something special. Mrs Zabini played with Ven's short hair and chuckled coolly.

"Don't ever fall in love, mio angelo. It's not worth it", she cooed. "Love is worth nothing when you can have _fame and glory_."

Ven's bright smile fell a little because of that. Katrina instead snorted.

"Don't try to corrupt the bambino, Aurelia", she said and hiccupped, her cheeks flushed. "Love is a beautiful, beautiful thing just because your first love didn't end so well you shouldn't–"

"Shush", Mrs Zabini said though her icy glare didn't match with her soft voice. Then she looked down at Ven. "Ventus. Love doesn't bring anything good." Her tone was firm, commanding even. "Promise me you don't fall in love."

"I won't fall in love, Nonna", Ven repeated innocently, not knowing what he was agreeing. It was enough for Mrs Zabini, the simple promise that it was in her ears. And she made sure to teach Ven that way. But after all, love can't be controlled.

* * *

It hadn't been a surprise that Theodore had freaked out completely when the owl from Hogwarts had reached him. It had been a way worse than Alistair had expected; when he had returned home few weeks later Theodore hadn't been there. Ana had said tenderly that he just needs time. Otherwise he had been sulking somewhere before appearing two day later and scolding Alistair thoroughly. Ana had taken news better than her husband but that didn't mean she hadn't been disappointed.

Toby instead had been grounded for the whole summer. He had managed to owl Alistair during the first week before his parents had forbidden that as well but from what Alistair had heard in the train Toby hadn't stayed inside the house like his parents would have wanted. They had had the biggest argument of the century, though that was probably an exaggeration.

Layla hadn't bothered to mention what her parents had told her about the charade. She had been unnaturally silent during the ride to Hogwarts. She had barely taken part in any of their conversations when she had sat in their compartment. She had even excused herself after in an hour and left them. What Chastity and Mary had later told Alistair, and Toby who had just woken up from his nap, is that they had seen Layla with George Larkins, Jean Kerr, and the rest of the Quidditch team seniors in the other end of the train. Hearing that had made Toby especially grumpy.

The Sorting Ceremony had been long and boring and the atmosphere between the fourth year students in the Hufflepuff table was almost comically tense.

"These new first years are dwarfs", Toby drawled, glaring at the just sorted children and not really enjoying the feast.

"You weren't much taller than them", Alistair remarked and Chastity sniggered.

"You were even shorter than me", she added snidely and poked Toby's cheek. "Aren't you still? Huh? _Huh?_"

"I'm already 5'4!" Toby hissed, glaring daggers at her. "I may not be taller than you yet but I _will_ be, dammit!"

Chastity looked taken aback. "No need to be so touchy about it", she said and crossed her arms. Instead of bickering with Toby she looked at Layla and crooned. "Hey, Lelliekins?"

Layla broke free from her catatonic state and raised her eyes from her half-empty plate. "Huh?"

"What's your relationship with Larkins?"

Layla blushed furiously. "Wha-what?" she spluttered and glanced at Toby who had now raised a brow and was obviously listening. "There's nothing to tell, we just–!"

Headmistress Blanchard clinked her glass couple times, interrupting the conversation, and the Great Hall fell into the silence.

"Later", Chastity whispered and grinned mischievously. Layla tried to hide her face, not succeeding very well.

The Headmistress smiled warmly. "This year will be special in the History of Hogwarts", she said. It wasn't a new way to start a speech so no one actually perked up. Alistair sighed. Every year at Hogwarts was 'special'. What could possibly made this one any diff–

"Beauxbatons has announced to be in charge of the first Triwizard tournament of the 21st century."

There were loud gasps in all four tables, conversations sprouting everywhere. Ignoring that Blanchard continued her speech, still smiling.

"A group of exceptional young witches and wizards of age seventeen are allowed to spend a marvellous year in exchange in France and one of them will be chosen to be Hogwarts champion."

The gasps were replaced by groans, the loudest ones certainly coming clearly from the Gryffindor table where the sixth year students were located.

"We're not old enough", Alistair said plainly.

"It would be nice to see what kind of students there are in different schools", Mary continued. "Do you think many Hufflepuffs will volunteer?"

"Flinch-Fletchley probably will, and Ropisque, too", Toby said and glanced at the Quidditch captain. "And _Larkins_", he hissed the name. "Probably would try his luck too if there weren't the age limit."

* * *

"_Triwizard_ Tournament?" Albus almost shrieked but managed to keep the volume low enough that only those who were sitting the closest to him had heard. "Do they even know what they're bringing back?!"

Ven shrugged, trying to listen to the Headmistress' speech but Albus kept interrupting his train of thought. He knew where Albus was going with that. Last time someone had _died._ That should have been enough of a reason to never have the tournament again.

"It will be different this time", Scorpius said. "They wouldn't have even considered organizing the tournament if they weren't sure it wasn't safe." He gave a half-smile. "Or as safe as it could be anyway."

Albus muttered something to that but Ven couldn't care less. Anyway, he wasn't even able – or willing to – take part in the tournament. He glanced around the table, catching a glimpse of blue eyes. The raven haired Slytherin girl turned her head away the moment their eyes met, a pink tint finding its way to her cheeks.

Ven rolled his eyes. He had run into Acacia Rosier before the feast; he had been in the same carriage with fellow Slytherins, and all that time the girl had stolen glances of him whenever she taught Ven wouldn't notice. And it annoyed him to the edge. True, Rosier had revealed her feelings to Ven but that didn't mean he would reciprocate them. He, actually, felt absolutely nothing towards Acacia.

He sneered at Darius and Lucinda who were wrapped around each other, kissing and cuddling like there weren't anyone else but them in the table. From what Lucinda had said in the carriage, it was easy to draw a conclusion that they would be engaged before their sixth year ends.

It wasn't a surprise that Scorpius was staring at the Gryffindor table, now wearing a serene smile on his face. It made Ven think, rather ruefully, were he and Albus in his not-very-large circle of friends the only ones unaffected by the affection towards the opposite sex.

Maybe he was just the only one thinking too much about it.

* * *

The speech was over; the usual warnings and reminders given and since the other professors had nothing to add the students were dismissed. The group of Hufflepuffs were on their way to the basement when a familiar voice stopped them.

"Miss Holmes." Professor Dogwood spoke in his calm, soothing voice that belonged to the tranquil Astronomy Tower instead of the noisy corridor. "Would you follow me? The Headmistress wants to see you."

Chastity grimaced, scratching her neck awkwardly. "Am I in trouble?" Dogwood just shrugged offering a small smile. Chastity gave a frustrated sigh. "If this is about how I punched Corner last spring I swear to Merlin that I'll–"

The Astronomy professor held back his laughter. "Miss Holmes", he tried to sound serious. "The Headmistress is a busy woman _and_ she is waiting for you."

"Yes, yes." Chastity pecked a quick kiss on William's cheek and grinned. "Well, guys. Fingers crossed. I'll be back soon."

But she wasn't back as soon as the others had thought. The midnight was nearing and yawns had filled the common room. Alistair sat on the other end of the comfy leather sofa, barely awake. Mary was curled up next to him with a book on her lap whereas William was sitting on the loveseat across the room. Toby was pacing back and worth to avoid falling asleep. The four of them were patiently waiting for Chastity to come back; Jeremiah and Layla had both retired to their dorms earlier.

After a soft clack Chastity finally appeared from the barrel hole to the black and yellow room. It was clear that she had cried. But before anyone had a chance to ask what was going on, Chastity was standing directly in front of them, words coming from her mouth:

"I won't join you for this year."


	32. Chapter 32 Deal

Chapter 2. Deal

Toby was the first to get over the shock and break the silence that had filled the room.

"You won't _what_?!" he cried out. "Did they _expel_ you?!"

Chastity shook her head furiously and wiped away the dried remains of tears from her cheeks. "No! Nothing like that", she laughed. The others stared at her so she continued: "I'll be leaving to Beauxbatons as a junior Daily Prophet journalist! Can you believe it?" She was practically beaming. "This is my chance! I'll write you guys a lot!"

Mary stood up and closed her book. "But what about–"

Chastity didn't let Mary finish but instead she pulled her to dance around the room. "What if they have pretty boys there?" she squealed. "I can't wait two months for it!"

William gaped at his girlfriend, unable to form words. Chastity continued to babble about how excited she was and unlike Alistair and Mary she didn't even notice William silently leaving the common room.

"I'll go", Alistair said to Mary. "Good night, Mary."

"Night, Alistair", Mary replied softly.

In the fourth year boys' dorm Jeremiah was already asleep. William instead sat on his bed a grave expression on his face. He gave a slight smile when Alistair sat on the other end of his bed. Alistair bit his lower lip and placed a comforting hand on William's shoulder.

"I'm okay", William said calmly, replying to Alistair's unspoken question. "Don't worry 'bout me."

"But if", Alistair started. "If you want to talk to someone…"

William shifted and Alistair moved his hand away. "She just wasn't thinking", William remarked. "I'm used to it. And it's still almost two months till she'll leave."

Alistair didn't know what to say to that. Instead he moved to his own bed and was fast asleep before Toby came from the common room good half an hour later.

* * *

During the second week of the school year, the Quidditch tryouts were held. Since the Slytherin seeker for at least the last three years, Atticus Tourris, had graduated in the spring, the team's captain Sophia Goyle had announced the search for the new seeker. The rest of the spots were already filled and she wasn't going to change her already good players to some newbies if she didn't have to.

Ven sat on the stands, a particularly deep frown on his face. Weren't there any new kid worth the seeker's title? After all, the team had been on the pitch at least for two hours and Goyle was still torturing the possible candidates. Bulstrode – her fellow beater and platonic life partner – shared her intense and eager enjoyment for trying to get the best out of them. Darius, and the rest of the team were with the captain, Rosier instead hadn't came to the pitch with the other players. It didn't raise Ven's mood; she was still angry at him.

The loud whooping almost a half an hour later was a sign that the decision was finally made.

"Who won the captain's heart?" Ven asked dully from Darius when his dorm mate walked with him away from the pitch. The taller Slytherin snickered and pointed at small girl with an undercut who walked behind them with the others. She had intelligent eyes, grey coloured and slanted, and she seemed unaffected by Ferguson chatting loudly next to her. "And she is?"

"You really didn't pay attention, did you?" Darius scoffed half-heartedly. "That's Evanna Cringe, a third year student. Flies faster than Marcel, which is pretty much why the bloke is so glued to her right now."

Ven nodded. "So she is good?"

"Can't say for sure", Darius said. "When compared to Tourris she's nothing special. But again, she was better than the rest." He laughed. "Well, we'll see. The first game is against the Gryffindorks, she'll have to show her skills in no time!"

There was still few weeks time to train. Last year Gryffindor had taken both House and Quidditch Cups and Blishwick had been infuriated. She was determined that her house would win this year and Goyle was the same. Slytherin wouldn't back down this year. They would play to win.

* * *

Alistair ran his hand through the mop of strawberry blonde hair. It was so frustrating, the Potions homework. He wanted to curse Professor Blishwick to the Black Lake and back. He scribbled in the corner of his essay paper until someone stopped right between him and the fireplace. He glared at who was blocking the light. The pale brunette looked down at him and Alistair's expression softened.

"I need to talk with you", Layla said quietly. She wasn't smiling. Actually she hadn't been smiling much since she had gotten into the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and replaced Warden Leech. "I can't even ask anyone else because you're the only guy who would ever help me with this." She fumbled the hem of her skirt, a pleading look in her yes. "Please, Alistair."

Alistair sighed. Layla's problem had to be bigger than he had imagined because she had even used his first name instead of any of the various nick names she and Toby had given to him.

"Okay", Alistair said and packed away his unfinished homework. "What do you want to tell me?"

Layla's eyes flashed. "Shush! Not here!" she whispered, looking around the common room. There was a group of second year Hufflepuffs working with their Astronomy essays and two sixth years concentrating on a game of Wizard chess. "Outside."

Layla pulled Alistair into the storage room a little further from the kitchens. "Sit down", she ordered and Alistair did what he was told. Layla took few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. She waited a moment before speaking quickly.

"_Iwantyoutobemyboyfriend_."

Alistair stared at Layla. He wasn't sure had he heard correctly. He might have heard wrong. Yes, there was always a chance that he had missed what she had said. Hadn't she just asked him to be her boyfriend?

"I'm sorry?" he whispered awkwardly, hoping that he had misheard her words. "Did you just... ask me to be your boyfriend?" He had never thought about Layla that way. Of course she was very pretty with her pixie like appearance and she was very smart and good at school in general and she had made it into the Quidditch team but having her as a girlfriend? Alistair swallowed. "Because I'm not... I'm sorry don't like you that way."

Layla bit her lower lip and avoided looking directly at Alistair. "I don't... I don't like you that way, either", she said with a small smile. Alistair, instead of sighing in relief, looked shocked.

"Wait what?"

"I'd like you to _pretend_ being my boyfriend", Layla corrected. "And only for few months", she added quickly when Alistair furrowed his brow in confusion. Layla shook her head and hugged herself protectively. "Because there is this one boy who I like but he doesn't really notice me as a girl", she explained. "At all", she added bitterly. "So if you could pretend to be my boyfriend for a while so I could make him jealous..."

Alistair looked away. Of course he wanted to help his friend but this was strongly against his morale. He wasn't even sure could he pretend to be Layla's boyfriend and to be in love with her.

"I understand if you don't want to", Layla said quietly. "But I have tried my best to get his attention and... And it's just no use..."

"Layla", Alistair sighed and looked now at his friend. "Of course I would want to help you", he said but shook his head nonetheless. "Just like you would help me", he added. "But pretending to be your boyfriend..." Alistair grimaced.

"Please", Layla pleaded. "After I joined the team he's been acting like I'm one of the boys." She laughed dryly. "But I joined just to make him notice me."

Alistair smiled warmly. "You're a brilliant seeker, Layla. No matter what your intentions were when you went to the tryouts. And you're beautiful, too", Alistair said and stroked Layla's cheek and the girl managed to get out a strangled chuckle. "He must be completely bonkers to not notice you."

"Thanks", Layla said. They stood there in the silence for what felt like minutes, Layla staring at Alistair, lower lip trembling ever so slightly. She was waiting for him to give in.

"Fine", Alistair sighed at last. "I'll pretend to be your boyfriend. But only for couple months", he added seriously and Layla squealed in delight and pulled Alistair into a tight hug.

"Liz, you're the best!" Layla laughed and Alistair rolled his eyes. He didn't have a heart to ask the girl to tone her enthusiasm down.

* * *

"Is it just me or is Rosier still avoiding you?"

Ven looked up from his book. Albus, not surprisingly in soaked clothes, stared down at him, water dripping from his hair. The darker skinned boy put away the book and crossed his arms.

He smirked. "Seems like Myrtle didn't appreciate your company today."

"Don't turn this conversation at me", Albus groaned. He stripped down his shirt and tossed the offending piece of fabric at Ven who barely caught it before it could hit him in the face. Ven handed the shirt back to Albus.

"She is avoiding me", he said with a shrug. It was irritating but he was getting used to it. He and Rosier had never been the best of friends but yes, studying would be easier if you didn't avoid your working partner. Nonetheless, they had been partnered up by Professor Norwood in all their Transfiguration classes.

"Shouldn't you, you know, like apologize to her?" Albus suggested, drying his hair.

Ven's brows furrowed as he glared at Albus. "Excuse me, Potter, she started this shit."

"It's been two weeks since the school started and during that time you two haven't exchanged a single 'hello' without trying to murder each other with your eyes", Albus said and sighed. "It's getting annoying. You know, it would be easier if you just–"

"I'd rather spend a whole afternoon with Sarida Rai than apologize to her", Ven spat.

Albus blinked before grinning a little. "Is that a challenge?"

"No", Ven replied a little too quickly.

"Because you know I could make you spend your whole day with Rai."

"Do that and you'll join Myrtle in the girls' lavatory."

* * *

Chastity was first to notice that Alistair was holding Layla's hand in the common room. She had badgered them until Layla had finally told her, and to all the other Hufflepuffs who had happened to be in the room at the same time, that they were now indeed together. And even though it was all part of their deal, Alistair had turned into deep shade of scarlet when Layla had given him a kiss on the cheek in front of their friends.

Appleby and Kerr from the Quidditch team had been first to actually congratulate them. Alistair couldn't help but notice that Larkins wasn't with the other two even though they were usually attached from the hip to each others. He excused himself early, getting yet another kiss from his fake girlfriend with a loud chorus of 'awwws' on the background.

Late that night he was tossing and turning when Toby suddenly began talking to him.

"So, you and Layla?" Toby asked, sounding unusually quiet. He laughed a little. "I never saw that one coming."

Alistair sat up to saw his best friend had done the same. "Neither did I", Alistair admitted with a sigh. It wasn't a lie. He had never even considered pretending to be Layla's boyfriend. Of course, Toby would have no idea about it. And Alistair wouldn't tell him.

"But she's a great girl", Toby said, petting his pillow absentmindedly. "Pretty, too."

"She is", Alistair said. "And a brilliant seeker."

Toby gave a smile. "You two… make a cute couple."

Alistair shrugged. He couldn't really agree with Toby so he stayed silent and the conversation between the two died. Alistair pressed his head to his pillow and inhaled slowly. It will be just a couple months. He repeated the mantra and closed his eyes. Only couple months.


	33. Chapter 33 Departure

Chapter 3. Departure

"Potter", Ven snarled and knocked the bathroom door for the third time. "You've been there the whole morning. We'll be late from Charms if you continue acting like a brat."

"I'm not coming out!" Albus groaned, voice muffled by the door.

Ven looked at Scorpius, making the blonde sigh loudly. They had been standing behind the bathroom room for almost two hours, waiting for Albus to come out. At first it had been amusing but it starting to get annoying. They had already missed breakfast and the Charms lesson would start in fifteen minutes.

"Whatever you're hiding can't be so horrible that we'll leave running", Scorpius tried. "Have some faith in us."

"I can't have faith in you two! You're Slytherins for Merlin's sake!"

"So are you", Ven scoffed. There was incoherent mumbling on the other side of the bathroom door before the door slowly opened, revealing slightly dishevelled and tired looking Albus Potter. There wasn't anything out of ordinary except–

"Are those… glasses?" Scorpius asked, staring at his best friend in disbelief. Albus' cheeks turned into an angry shade of red and he balled his fists.

"Don't judge me!" he shouted, unnaturally embarrassed, and shook his head furiously. "It took this long I actually took them from my trunk and tried them on! Oh bloody hell, I look like Harry Potter Jr!"

Ven shrugged. "You kinda _are_ Harry Potter Jr."

"You're not helping", Scorpius hissed. "How long have you had glasses, Al?" he asked softly.

"For too long!" Albus squalled. He was getting panicky. "My eyesight was getting worse so Mom forced me to take them with me!" he continued. "And James' have glasses since he was four so it was only a matter of time but I can't go to the class like this…!"

"Stop being such a little bitch about your glasses, Potter", Ven said, frowning. "It's a piece of plastic and glass. Perhaps you could ask if Professor Flitwick would turn them invisible. Or maybe not because we're being _late_!"

* * *

"They'll leave tonight", Mary said wistfully, eating a spoonful of vanilla pudding.

Alistair nodded and sighed. It was October 29th, and it would have been just a typical, dull Thursday dinner they were attending if it weren't for the Triwizard Tournament. Eighteen students, Headmistress Blanchard had informed, from ages of 17 and 18, had chosen to chase the eternal glory. They would leave, the Headmistress herself among them, at the midnight to arrive Beauxbatons precisely at the daybreak.

Chastity was wolfing down her dinner as she scribbled something in her notebook. Once in a while she looked at the other tables and wrote some more.

"What are you doing?" Toby asked at last.

"Writing down some last minute info", Chastity said and her grin widened. "Their strengths, weaknesses, school history… Anything and everything. It'll make a great article, when I know who the Hogwarts champion is. I'll write about the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang champions, too, when I've first met them."

Layla smiled. "You really are taking this seriously."

"Of course I am!" Chastity snorted. "Let's take a look of the Gryffindors, shall we?" She leafed through the pages. "There're seven Gryffindors aiming to be the Hogwarts champion." She pointed at the red and gold table with her quill.

"Fred Weasley, the Gryffindor beater, is a great example. He is physically strong, thanks to years of Quidditch, but he's also academically talented. He has great self-confidence and that's one of the key factors in succeeding. Though it can be said that he is also quite reckless if you recall all the pranks he has taken part. Recklessness is a big no-no. He also gave the title of captain to his cousin James Potter."

She bit the end of her quill and scribbled some more before continuing.

"And then there's Vivian Cole. She is more reserved but equally confident about becoming the Hogwarts champion. Why else would she have even signed up for this? I heard she broke up with her boyfriend last night. Ooh! And she is astounding in Alchemy and Transfiguration. But yeah, Weasley and Cole stand out."

"That's impressing", Jeremiah said.

"Well, I have done the background checks", Chastity said proudly.

"Doesn't that invade their privacy?" William asked.

"I'm a journalist", Chastity drawled and rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. "What do you think?"

"What about the Slytherins?" Layla inquired and leaned her head on Alistair's shoulder.

"There're four of them", Chastity stated carefully. "But I think only one of them will actually aim to be the champion. The rest are only for the support. Harlan Selwyn is the name." She frowned, looking at her notes. "Quite an oddball, he is. Very varied interests but on the top of his class in almost everything. May as well become the Hogwarts champion, I wouldn't be too surprised."

"Are there any Ravenclaws going?" Alistair asked.

Chastity nodded. "Yeah, but only two. Leonora Blouse and Farlan Ackerman. Both very intelligent, and both from the Duelling Club."

"We have a Duelling Club?" Toby threw in.

"Ravenclaws only."

"Damn."

"Anyway, Blouse is probably one of the smartest Ravenclaws, and if I could pick anyone to represent Hogwarts it would be her. And if you haven't paid attention, she is also the current Head Girl."

"What about that other Ravenclaw?" Jeremiah asked.

"Oh, yes. Farlan Ackerman. I don't have much to say about him yet. All I know he's in the Duelling Club and he likes to eat his dessert before the main course." Chastity closed her notebook before smiling widely. "And of course, from our very own house we have–"

"Timothy Finch-Fletchley, Valerie Ropisque, and Nico Smith", Toby said. "Two Quidditch players and a prefect."

Chastity gave him thumbs up. "Correct!" She looked at her empty plate. "Oh look how the time flies!" She took her notebook and got up from the table. "I'll be at our dorm, doing some last minute packing. Be sure you're awake to say your last goodbyes to me."

She snatched a candy apple from Layla's plate and pranced gracefully out the Hall.

Mary giggled. "What're we ever going to do without her?"

* * *

And precisely at the midnight six flying cars, given by the British Ministry of Magic, departed from the castle grounds and vanished to the horizon. The students had been watching their leaving with mixed feelings: some were jealous, some curious, some just happy. After all, those eighteen students were going to have a very different school year. Headmistress Blanchard had left Professor Blishwick in charge; a decision that had angered many non-Slytherins.

On a way back to the dungeons from the yard Albus kept on glancing around and frowning at everybody. Ven was getting truly annoyed; the charade had continued the whole day. Scorpius was annoyed as well but he was trying to be more understanding. Ven rolled his eyes.

"Stop being a paranoid pissbaby, Potter. They're not going to make fun of you", he growled, resisting the urge to punch the other Slytherin. "Not anymore at least."

Turner had had it coming. The Herbology class had been ended early after the chaos had ensued; Albus hadn't taken well when Anthony Turner had mentioned how much the two Potter brothers looked alike, and so the now bespectacled boy had made several _Venomous Tentaculas_ attack the Gryffindor. Thanks to Professor Longbottom's kindness, and the fact he's Albus' godfather, Albus hadn't gotten detention. Other than that no one had even paid attention on Albus' glasses. It didn't make the Slytherin dislike them any less though.

"Albus", Scorpius said when Albus was going to take his glasses off. "Don't."

"But I don't like them", Albus hissed. "They make me look like a nerd."

"You need them to _see_", Ven said resentfully. "They're not some fashion accessories you can just take off."

Albus glared at Ven. "Look who's talking!" he snarled. "You don't even–!"

"I _do_ have reading glasses if that's what you were going to say", Ven told, his voice an annoyed hiss. His brows knitted together. "And I use them because I _need_ them. So shut up about your glasses already."

Albus blinked. "I-I didn't know…"

"I just _want_ to see. I need to see." Ven grimaced slightly. Now it was out: he needed glasses as well. "But I don't bother to make such a big deal about them. You shouldn't either. Of course reading glasses and regular glasses are two completely different things but–"

"No, no, I got it." Albus shook his head. "I got it. We're good, I'll use them."

Scorpius smiled. He had known about Ven's reading glasses for almost two years but it was a very rare sight to actually see the darker skinned Slytherin using them. And like Albus, Ven was way too proud to admit needing them. Ven admitting to Albus that he even had glasses as well was a step forward. It made Scorpius chuckle. His friends were sometimes such brats but they were his brats.

And that's why he liked them so much.


	34. Chapter 34 To Dance

Chapter 4. To Dance

During the breakfast Alistair's gaze moved along the lines of the newest Daily Prophet. Chastity had truly proven herself to be a capable writer; her first article was already published. They don't lose time at the publishing business. It had been two days since the group of 18 students had left Hogwarts.

_THE TRIWIZARD CHAMPIONS REVEALED! (1 November 2021)_

_Late last night at the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic the history was made […]__ The Champions for the first Triwizard Tournament of the 21__st__ century __[…]__ The Goblet of Fire, the impartial selector of the champions __[…] _

_The Heads of the wizarding schools […] Madame Olympe Maxime […] Dmitri Sevic […] Ambrosine Blanchard […]_

_The Champions Yann Delvaux from the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Vasil Ivanov from the Durmstrang Institute, and Vivian Cole from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry […]_

_The first task will be held in November […]_

_The Judges […] Junior Ministry official Oedipus Crane […] Quidditch Legend Viktor Krum […]_

"Oedipus Crane?" Layla interrupted Alistair's train of thought, reading aloud the Daily Prophet over Alistair's shoulder. "Straight to the Ministry from school. He sure is aiming high."

No wonder the name had felt familiar; Oedipus Crane had, after all, been the other one of two prefects who had turned the Hufflepuff basement from just a group of rooms into the home that it was now. Crane had graduated in the spring, leaving Hogwarts behind for real. It wasn't a surprise that working for the Ministry had been on the top of his career choices.

"Aren't you aiming for the Ministry as well?" Alistair asked Layla, smiling a little.

"I am." Layla smiled as well. "Crane just makes it feel more real. Like it's really possible."

Toby frowned at the friendly chat between his 'we-have-now-been-together-over-a-month' friends. He left his breakfast unfinished and stood up, knocking over a half-full glass of pumpkin juice and soaking his robe.

"You okay?" Alistair asked hurriedly and handed a napkin to Toby.

Toby shook his head furiously and bitterly accepted the napkin, trying to dry his robe with it. "I'm fine", he said sharply. "I'll just… I'll see you in Transfiguration."

Layla stood up, an alarmed look in her face. The class wouldn't start in another thirty minutes. "Toby, wait…!"

Toby flinched at her voice but didn't turn back; instead he picked up the pace and almost ran out of the Great Hall, leaving his confounded friends behind.

* * *

For most of the students the beginning of November had been rather uneventful time. The interest in the Champions had decreased and since there was still few weeks to go before the first task of the Tournament so there was nothing to gossip about. Even the match between Gryffindor and Slytherin hadn't gained as much interest as the year's first game usually did.

So it wasn't a surprise that the atmosphere down in the Slytherin common room, even with the victory in Quidditch, was quiet and plain. The three Slytherins were enjoying their free time – Scorpius was fixing his Potions assignment, Ven was polishing his broom, and Albus was just generally hanging around the room and occasionally bothering the two others. Albus smiled at himself as he stole glances from Scorpius' paper and tried to get memorized the main points. Albus was by no means bad in Potions, mediocre yes, but never the worst of the class. He just usually didn't bother doing his homework until the last moment.

Nothing out of ordinary was happening before one of the prefects came in. "Professor Blishwick wants everybody to the Great Hall", he announced in a bored tone. "Immediately."

The group of Slytherin students left the dungeons, no one actually knowing why Blishwick had wanted them to the Great Hall but when they got to the 1st floor it was clear that they weren't the only ones invited: Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs had been called to the Hall as well. Ven sat on their usual seat next to Scorpius and started listening. Professor Blishwick stood up and opened a scroll.

"People of Hogwarts", she started. "I have summoned you here to enlighten you about the traditions of the Triwizard Tournament–"

"What's the point when we weren't allowed to go there?" Darius snorted.

"Shush!" Varvara hissed through her teeth.

Darius rolled his eyes. "Well sorry."

"– and at last but not least, the Yule Ball has always been a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament we here a Hogwarts decided to organize an alternative ball for you." The little chatting that had remained through Blishwick's speech died down. "It will carry the same name, and the rules will be the same as in the regular Yule Ball." Professor's voice carried over the silenced Great Hall. "All the students from the fourth year and onwards are allowed to take part to the Ball which takes place at Christmas Day. You'll be receiving dancing lessons as many times as the Head of your House thinks is necessary–"

"The Yule Ball", Ven stated, not actually interested though he hadn't expected that they would have a Ball at Hogwarts. "How fun", he said sarcastically. He had been in galas and balls when he had been younger and the memory of dancing wasn't that pleasant.

Darius had already exclaimed he'll go with Lucinda Cross but Albus seemed uncomfortable. Darius took this as a sign threw his arm over Albus' shoulder and ruffled the slightly younger raven's hair.

"There's this girl, a Ravenclaw, a year younger than us but pretty as hell", he said with a mischievous smile. "Take her to the Hogsmeade next weekend. Perhaps she'd agree to be your Yule Ball date?"

"Yeah, why not", Albus said half-heartedly and uncurled himself from Darius' grip. "But right now I think I'll just go to Defence class to wait for Professor Prosper. As he seems to already hate my guts."

There was a long silence when the three Slytherins who were rarely seen apart walked in the cool corridors of Hogwarts. The winter was definitely nearing, Ven mused bitterly. The lake would freeze over and the dorm would be cold as a freezer. Thank Merlin they had learned _Warming Charms _years ago.

"Hey, Scorp?" Albus asked suddenly and turned to face the blonde when they took the last turn towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Scorpius raised a brow.

"Hmm?"

"Are you planning to ask Rose to the Ball?"

Scorpius' cheeks gained a bright red colour. "I… Well, umm", he stuttered before swallowing. "Yes, I am. Is that okay?"

"Whatever to me, just wanted to make sure." Albus turned to Ven. "Who're you goin' with, Zabini?"

"I don't know yet", Ven said truthfully. "There's no one I want to go with."

"You're not gonna skip this, are you?" Albus asked, his brows furrowing. Ven shrugged noncommittally. After all, skipping the ball didn't sound such a bad opinion.

* * *

Alistair swallowed. He knew he was talented in many things. He knew was a decent writer. He knew most poisonous plants by heart. He had even proved himself to be quite capable in taking care of his sister. But now, when he was standing near the wall with other Hufflepuff boys and the girls were looking at them from the other side of the room, he felt like he was going to forget every little thing he had ever learned.

The Yule Ball practises.

All Hufflepuff students from fourth year and above had gathered to the empty basement room near the kitchens. Professor Wylie Buttonpress, the Head of the Hufflepuff House, beamed at her students. And her bright smile made the situation even more troublesome.

She explained everything thoroughly and danced with Herbert Walley, a seventh year student, as an example. Walley got catcalls from his friends and Professor herself giggled like a schoolgirl.

"Now get in the pairs!" she announced brightly. "No one is allowed to just be standing there alone, same-sex pairs are allowed, too!"

"Wouldn't that be just… awkward?" Toby coughed out with a smirk, making Alistair just stare at him a slight embarrassed smile on his lips. Of course Toby would say something like that. He had been sour for who knows how long but that was just Toby being Toby. There were several seventh and sixth year students to pair up instantly, some younger following their lead. Professor Buttonpress changed the music and she encouraged the rest of the students to dance as well since wasn't letting anyone out from the room before everyone had danced.

"Yeah", Alistair said quietly and hoped that someone of the girls currently standing on the other side of the room would just come and ask Toby to dance.

"I would rather skip the whole Ball than dance with another guy", Toby continued and Alistair just nodded and looked down, biting his lip and hoping for the knot in his gut to go away.

"Hey boys!" Layla said cheerily. She stretched out her hand. "Liz, shall we?"

Alistair took her hand and released the breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding. "Thanks", he whispered when they stopped in the middle of the room where other pairs were already dancing.

"You looked quite pained there", Layla said, glancing over her shoulder at frowning Toby. "Did Toby say something?"

"No", Alistair lied, immediately feeling bad for lying to Layla. He forced out a laugh. "I was just thinking that I'm not the best of dancers."

"Neither am I." Layla smiled teasingly and moved her hand on Alistair's shoulder. "So watch out for your toes."

* * *

Ven was right: dancing was absolutely horrible. Even worse than it had been when he was eight and forced to go to a gala with Mrs. Zabini. He had danced with a witch girl in his early teens and she had stomped on his toes on purpose several times. Professor Blishwick hadn't been the best dance teacher to be exact. And having to dance with Varvara Rycroft hadn't been an enjoyable sensation either.

Later he had sneaked away from the common room to get some private time from Darius who couldn't stop bothering him with his Yule Ball date suggestions – he had made clear he wouldn't dance with Rosier so Darius was pairing him up with Rycroft, just because of that one dance. The library would be a perfect place to get some peace and silence. Miss Page, the librarian, was actually quite nice if you didn't vandalize or clutter up the books, which Ven had no intention doing. He had his own book to read since Professor Longbottom said his Herbology grades were dropping.

But he didn't expect to run anyone at the library – after all, not all students enjoyed the smell of ink and old parchment and being under the watchful eye of Miss Page. But there was Alistair Nott, hunched over the table, his nose stuck in a book with its margins full of notes. It was clear the Hufflepuff wouldn't notice an explosion happening on the background at the moment.

Ven rolled his eyes and sat across the table, put on his reading classes, opened his own book and tried to enter to the magical world of fungi. It could be said that Nott was very distracting.

"You're eating your quill", Ven groaned, partially disgusted by the habit

But there was no reaction which actually made Ven frown a little. Was Nott ignoring him or was he really so deep in his own world he just didn't hear him? Neither of the opinions pleased him. He reached out his hand and patted Nott's shoulder. The blonde startled and his eyes widened in shock but the shock vanished from his face as quickly as it had appeared. It was replaced by a shy, embarrassed smile.

"Sorry, I didn't notice you there", he said uneasily. Ven shrugged it off and returned to his book. It took couple minutes to look up.

"You're doing it again", he mumbled.

Nott blinked. "Did you say something?"

"You're eating your quill."

Nott blushed and placed the quill on the table in front of himself. "Sorry, I do that when I'm nervous…"

Ven hummed at that. "Studying for a test?"

"Yeah… Hagrid is a great professor in his own way but I've never been good with Magical Creatures."

Ven flinched at that. The memory of last year's accident was still fresh in his mind and he didn't really like to talk about it. Their dorm had smelled like boiled cabbages for three days after Albus and Darius just had to try the salve Ven had gotten from infirmary. What came to Nott, Ven hadn't actually avoided the Hufflepuff. They just didn't share so many classes that they would have to talk to one another.

"Nott", Ven started warily. Why it was so embarrassing to bring the accident out now? "Last year I never actually thanked you."

"No, it was fine. I am fine", Nott said quickly and waved his hand dismissively. "So how's your leg?"

"It's… good", Ven admitted. "Didn't even get a scar."

Nott smiled at that. "Mm. You wouldn't want a scar to ruin your appearance"

"Excuse me?" Ven had almost shouted. Almost.

"Yeah, because you're pretty and… Oh God, I meant that you have a pretty skin. Wait that came out wrong too…!" Nott babbled, his face turning redder and redder. "I just…– Just forget what I just said, okay?"

Ven chuckled, positively amused. "We'll let that slide."

Nott gave a smile and bowed his head. "Thank you." He raised his eyes from the table's surface. "Umm, what're you studying? Perhaps I could help?"

"Herbology", Ven said before he could stop himself and Nott's face lit up. "But you don't need to help me", he added. Damn, he didn't want to be in the debt more than he was already.

But, although reluctantly, Ven accepted the advice Nott gave to him about the poisonous effects of different kinds of spores. Ven couldn't actually care less about the fungi but he needed to pass Herbology anyway. Nott instead seemed to find such a thing fascinating. Ven found himself smiling. It was nice to have a regular conversation with someone who isn't Scorpius. And there was these moments when Scorpius just spoke about how pretty Rose Weasley was, and they were getting more and more frequent as the Yule Ball was nearing.

"Are you going to the Yule Ball?" Ven asked and regretted it immediately. He didn't even want to talk about the Yule Ball.

Nott looked severely constrained by the question. "Yes, I'm going… with my girlfriend."

"You don't seem too happy about it", Ven remarked, slightly taken aback by the fact that Nott, too, had a girlfriend. But it wasn't his problem if Nott was unhappy, anyway.

"Layla is a nice girl", Nott told him with a small smile. "Are you going with anyone?"

"Geez, why is everyone asking that?" Ven drawled, grimacing a little. Nott giggled, actually giggled. Ven had to smile at that. "No, I don't think so–" he started but the cold vibes that went up his spine when the sudden, unnaturally cheery Indian voice interrupted him.

"Oh hi, Zabini! I didn't expect to see you here!" The group of young Gryffindors – Sarida Rai, Miranda Glocksworth, and Leonard Yale – stood behind him. Rai smiled widely as she ran her fingers through the smooth curls of hers. "I was wondering that maybe, now that I for once saw you outside the class, I could ask you to go to the Yule–"

"Can't you see we're in the middle of a conversation here, Rai?" Ven spat at her and Glocksworth who was standing directly at Rai's right side gasped.

"No, no! It's okay. I was just leaving", Nott said and stood up. He shoved the book, quill, and the small bottle of ink into his bag and gave another one of his smiles. "I guess we see at the Ball?"

Ven didn't get to answer to that.


	35. Chapter 35 Double Trouble

Chapter 5. Double Trouble

I t was just a regular Tuesday morning at the Slytherin table. Ven was seated next to Scorpius, Albus and madly grinning Darius on the other side. Albus determinedly avoided the gaze of his grinning dorm mate who had pestered him the whole morning.

"Ask Scorp", Albus snorted. "He'll take Rose to Hogsmeade anyway. Have a double date with them."

"But my Lucie doesn't like the Weasley chick!" Darius complained loudly, collecting annoyed glances from the other Slytherins, especially from Scorpius. "Seriously, Potter! Let's make it a double date! Me and Lucinda, you and Annie!"

Albus groaned and threw up his arms in exasperation. "What's with you and double dates? And who the bloody hell is Annie anyway?"

"What? You don't remember?!" Darius nearly shouted but grinned nevertheless because he had finally gained a reaction from the bespectacled Slytherin. "That Ravenclaw bird, a year younger than us. I've told you about her." He nodded as he emphasized his words. "She fancies you. Asked me to ask you out."

"Nah." Albus shrugged nonchalantly. "Not really interested."

Darius looked a little taken aback by that. "I kinda expected you to be more experimental", he then remarked snidely and smirked. "Are you afraid of girls that are not related to you? Is that's why you're chickening out?"

Albus' eyes flashed dangerously. "Excuse me?"

Darius laughed loudly, dropping the act. "Oh, come on, Potter, I was joking! But seriously though, it would be fun!" Albus didn't seem to be changing his mind. Instead he just sourly stared at his plate. Darius elbowed his side playfully. "And you'll be able to ask her to the Yule Ball!" he crooned, fluttering his eyelashes and making kissing noises. "Annie Potter has a nice ring on it!"

Albus pushed Darius down from his seat, making him laugh even louder.

"Next Saturday it is then!" Darius announced and got up from the floor. Albus just snorted and took a huge bite of his toast.

Ven rolled his eyes at the whole charade. They were making such a huge deal of something as insignificant as double dates and the Yule Ball. Ven had declined Rai's offer to go together to the Ball twice during the past days. At least Rosier was going with Hawley, the sixth year student with bad temper, and it was just fine for Ven.

After all, he was still debating weather he should he just go home for the Christmas holidays just to avoid the Yule Ball and everything that came with it or not.

But then again, he would be interrupting his father and Miss Davis having '_good time'_.

Decisions, decisions.

* * *

'_Hey Lizzie baby, how are things going on at Hogwarts? You got my last letter, didn't you? I certainly hope you did. But anyways, you never guess what happened at the dinner __[…]'_

Alistair smiled softly. He got more than often letters from Chastity, mostly concerning things apart from the Tournament. She seemed to have fun at Beauxbatons, though because of her age, her every movement was watched over by Crane. But what Alistair had read from the letters it had started to turn the other way around.

'_[…] __Crane was missing his tie at the breakfast. Delvaux gave to him later and can you believe it? Crane turned bright red and I didn't get a straight answer from him of where Delvaux could have found his tie! Crane is quite touchy when it comes to his stuff but this was different. I bet there's something dirty going on between them, I just know it. And I'm going to prove it. Laters, Lizzie. Expect to hear 'bout me soon!'_

"Can't imagine why", Alistair said after rereading the last part of the letter and let a deep sigh escape from his throat. Crane probably had a fling with that Delvaux. Or maybe something more serious since Crane wasn't the type of guy who would agree being played with. Though, based on the photos in Chastity's article of the Champions, Yann Delvaux was a rather good looking bloke. He seemed flirty as well so maybe it had been just a one night stand.

Alistair folded the letter and put it to the metallic box which had formerly contained homemade fudges from Mary – he had gotten it last Christmas – but where he had started keeping his letters in general. He frowned. Perhaps he was just dwelling in the thought too much. He shook his head. Jealously just was a feeling he disliked in particular.

The Quidditch practises were apparently over as Toby slouched to the dorm and fell ungracefully on his bed. "I'm so tired", he groaned. "These late practises are killing me. The new members are idiots… Cursed Timothy Finch-Fletchley making Larkins and Kerr share the captaincy. They _are_ monsters. Especially Larkins…"

Alistair couldn't help but frown. He hadn't brought up the question even though he wondered why Toby has so immense dislike towards the older Hufflepuff. They had gotten along just fine during the last year.

"'Listair!" Layla cooed as she jumped on Alistair's bed and pulled the boy into a bone crushing hug. She wasn't nearly as exhausted as Toby was and Alistair could feel it on his sides.

"Layla", Alistair wheezed out. "I can't breathe."

"Oh, sorry!" Layla let go and backed away just a little. "So… What've you been doing while I was out?"

Alistair gave a feeble smile. "Nothing much. Reading mostly."

"Aww, you're such a good student."

"No, I didn't–" He didn't bother finishing his sentence. Layla was practically on his lap now, purring like a cat. She smiled overly sweetly and caressed Alistair's cheek. Alistair gulped. Getting that close with Layla was unusual; it had happened only twice during the past weeks, and both times it had gotten him off-guard.

"You should have been there", she hummed, letting her hand drop. "Larkins praised me. I caught the Snitch faster than ever. Didn't I, _Toby_?" She snuggled Alistair's chest but looked straight at Toby.

Toby startled when his name was mentioned as if he had been doing something forbidden. "Yeah… You did", he mumbled and got up from his bed. "I'll go to get something to eat", he added glumly, leaving the room. Layla parted from Alistair's chest and let out a deep, and disappointed, sigh.

"I saw Toby. Where was he going?" William asked, appearing to the dorm merely a minute later, Jeremiah tagging along.

Alistair shrugged. "To the kitchens?" he offered and William just shot him with a look that said clearly 'you-got-to-be-kidding-me'. Alistair just shrugged again, more meekly this time and smiled apologetically.

"Right", William drawled.

Layla pursed her lips and huffed in annoyance. "He was just being insufferable idiot." She stood up, looking at each of the three boys in the dorm. "I'm tired. See you guys tomorrow", she said before she marched out the room; slamming,_ slamming_, the door close.

Alistair flinched at the sound. There was something he couldn't really put in words in the situation and it made his stomach curl on knots. It didn't feel right. But it would hopefully be over soon.

* * *

Sundays were blessed days. There were no classes and the breakfast is served later than usually so students and staff members could sleep longer. Scorpius had been up for ages; his bed was made and his bag gone. He was most likely at the library. Darius was nowhere to be seen but Ven had no idea where he had gone. It was a slight miracle the Slytherin Keeper was even awake.

Albus yawned loudly. It wasn't a surprise he was tired after he had come back late so last night. He had looked quite satisfied, smiling like a bloody fool, Ven had noted. The date must have gone well.

"How are things going with Annie?" Ven asked when they were on their way to the Great Hall.

Albus blinked. "What?" he asked dubiously.

"Your Hogsmeade date?" Ven stated slowly and waited patiently for the other Slytherin to answer. But Albus didn't answer. Instead his brows knitted together and he stopped walking altogether. "Don't you tell me stood her up?" Ven asked, hitting straight the nail on.

"I think I did", Albus said with a small shrug, looking at Ven in the eyes. He didn't seem sorry at all for missing his date.

Ven placed his hands on his hips and glared at Albus when he realized where his dorm mate had been instead of Hogsmeade. It hadn't been the first time Albus had just disappeared and later told he had been at the girls' lavatory all the time but this was getting ridiculous.

"You can't seriously have a crush on a ghost?" he asked, his voice harder than intended. Albus turned his eyes away from Ven's and ignored the question. "Albus? Tell me. Why would you–?"

Albus' voice was soft, a small smile curled up his lips. "Wonder what there's for breakfast."

And Ven didn't try to make Albus to speak about yesterday again.

* * *

Alistair was curled up on the couch in the Hufflepuff common room, eating liquorice wands and tweaking his Astronomy essay. A good way to use a Sunday afternoon, he had decided. Jeremiah and Mary, as studious as they were, had immediately agreed whereas Toby had strongly disagreed when Alistair had suggested they would study in a group. Layla sat on the floor, next to Alistair's feet, her Potions notes messily placed around her.

Alistair frowned when he saw Layla just scribbling on her notes. She had been oddly distant since the Quidditch practises. Mary rolled up the parchment that contained her newest essay and practically beamed.

"Have you asked your parents to send you dress robes?" she asked. Unlike Alistair, Mary was very excited of such a privilege they were given. "I think mine will be here tomorrow. I can't wait to see what my parents have bought."

Jeremiah sighed. "I've asked", he mumbled. "I think they'll send me brother's old robes; the ones he wore at our aunt's wedding. But that's better than nothing."

"Mathilda can't take her eyes from you, that's for sure", Mary said sweetly and Jeremiah blushed slightly when his dancing partner was mentioned. She turned to the scribbling blonde. "Layla, have you asked for your dress?"

"Me?" Layla chuckled dryly and looked up from the parchment. "They sent my dress already."

"They did?" Alistair chimed in. "What colour?"

"Mostly grey –" she started. "–silvery actually", she corrected when Mary's face fell in disappointed and didn't continue until the smile had returned to her dorm mates lips. "And there's some dark green."

"Isn't your robe dark green?" Jeremiah suddenly asked Alistair. "In the dorm, I think I saw–"

Alistair shook his head. "No, that must be Toby's", he said. "Mine's black and yellow."

There was this small moment of silence before Jeremiah spoke again. "So could someone help me with this essay or…?"

* * *

"Where were you?" Scorpius asked when Ven came back to the Slytherin common room just before the curfew started. "Ven?" he pressed, frowning a little.

"Stop frowning, it doesn't suit you", Ven remarked and sat next to Scorpius. The fire was dying out in the fireplace and barely lit the room. The dungeons were indeed quite chilly at the time of the year. "Could you stop staring at me like that? I'm not Albus. I don't need you to watch over me."

"Where were you?" Scorpius asked again, more firmly. Ven wasn't sure was Scorpius just trying to annoy him by trying to act like a protective older brother or not.

Ven rolled his eyes. "I was seeing the Gryffindors. I agreed to go to the Yule Ball with Rai", he said plainly. "It's not like I have anything to lose, anyway."

That made Scorpius smile. "It can be fun."

"We'll see", Ven retorted. "But I don't think so."

"You don't know that", Scorpius said.

"I'll go there with Sarida Rai. I definitely know I won't enjoy it", Ven said. "I regret it already."

Scorpius rolled his eyes and voiced his other concern. "Did you see Albus on your way here?"

"He's probably at the girls' lavatory."

"Again?"

"Again."


	36. Chapter 36 Together

Chapter 6. Together

The newest Daily Prophet was the most read publication that morning in the Hogwarts. The results of the first task of the Triwizard had been published: Vivian Cole of Hogwarts was currently having the highest score, Delvaux of Beauxbatons and Ivanov of Durmstrang sharing the second place. The article explained precisely everything about the task and how the Champions had gotten through it; another sign that Chastity took her job seriously.

But Alistair had been more interested in the letter he had gotten from Chastity and replying to it than he was in the article. Somehow Chastity had found out about the upcoming Yule Ball at Hogwarts and in the letter she had expressed very verbally how she wanted to see her classmates dressed in fine robes and now she didn't have a chance. Alistair bit his quill and held back his laughter. Chastity was being such a drama queen; the difference between her journalist side and her usual self was impossible to not notice.

"Another letter from Chas?" Layla hummed, snatching the piece of rose scenting parchment. "Should I be jealous of you?"

Alistair grinned. "I don't know. Should you?"

"They're being cute again", Mary sighed, leaning on her hand as she watched Layla and Alistair banter playfully, completely in their own world.

Toby snorted at her. "If you call that cute, okay, but I think it's annoying", he muttered, trying his best to not even glance at the direction where his best friend and his teammate where having a moment. Mary smiled a little, noticing the faint blush on Toby's cheeks.

"You're jealous", she said quietly.

"No…! I'm not!" Toby whispered angrily, cursing the perceptive little shit that was Mary.

"It's okay, I'm not judging", Mary started softly, looking at where Layla and Alistair were sitting close to each other. She sighed sadly before she turned her eyes back to furiously blushing Toby. "But sometimes it's just… better to let go of the ones you like", Mary said.

Toby stared at the Hufflepuff girl, blatantly showing his surprise. "I had no idea", he muttered as he understood what Mary had just told him. Mary waved it off and continued eating her breakfast like she had done nothing more out of ordinary than pointed out what kind weather it was.

* * *

"Keep the hands on the _waist_, Flint", Blishwick railed for the third time at Darius whose hands preferred slipping lower from his girlfriend's waist. Cross giggled at Professor Blishwick's exasperation, making their Head of the House want to duck points from her own students.

"You heard her, Flint", Albus mocked playfully and lead his current dancing partner, a shy fifth year girl Milith Ambler, closer to Darius and Lucinda. "Keep your hands on the waist." Lucinda completely ignored his comment and pressed her face closer to the crook of Darius' neck.

"I'll tell where you should keep your hands", Darius joked quietly, paying a meaningful look at Ambler's cleavage. "You know where the goods are." Albus snorted at him.

"You gotta be kidding me!" he laughed as Ambler was slowly turning into a colour of a Christmas apple. "I'm not as shameless as you, Flint!" That straw broke the camel's back. Or in this case, Blishwick's back.

"That's it! Lesson is over! Class dismissed" Blishwick shouted and the music stopped immediately as she waved her wand. "Not for you two!" she shrieked at Albus and Darius who had attempted to follow Ven and Scorpius.

"You think they're gonna get detention?" Marcel asked with a wide grin, catching up with the two younger Slytherins outside the class. Scorpius shrugged.

"Probably", he said and sighed. "Blishwick will just make them clean the class or something like that."

"Serves them right", Rosier chimed in. "We girls aren't just something to make fun of. Did you see Ambler's face?" She rolled her eyes. "How blunt a guy can be anyway? We're more than just breasts and arse."

"A-hem, you're talking about my boyfriend, Cia", Lucinda remarked dryly.

"I never said I was talking about Flint", Rosier said with a smugly grin. "And didn't you two broke up last week?"

Lucinda huffed. "We got back together."

"Have you lowered your standards?" Rosier needled. "_Again_?"

"He just happens to have amazing personality."

"And yet you dump him about once a month."

"You're just jealous because I happen to have a boyfriend", Lucinda retorted, suddenly very angry that they were talking about her relationship. Rosier glared at Lucinda but her quick glance at Ven didn't go unnoticed. He was bit offended by the unwanted attention he had been given and how he was, namelessly though, brought into a stupid quarrel. Rosier glanced at him before loudly declaring:

"Who cares about having a boyfriend? I'm fine without." She crossed her arms. "But Hawley asked me to the Yule Ball. I couldn't say no when he even brought me flowers."

Ven snorted at that. As if he cared.

* * *

The Hufflepuff team had been put through changes once again because of Captain Timothy Finch-Fletchley and Valerie Ropisque leaving for their last year to Beauxbatons. They had needed new Keeper and Chaser and the last practices had revolved around finding, and lately training, the two new members of the team. Ryan Kim, a short and angry looking sixth year student, had taken reluctantly the Keeper's spot whereas Ella Alnwick, a girl pretty girl with dull blue eyes and a gap between her teeth, had replaced Ropisque. After weeks of training the team still wasn't ready to play against Ravenclaw in their first match of the school year. And Toby was being petulant, even more than usually.

Ravenclaws had replaced their graduated players with fourth year students, making Leon Flannery their Keeper and Eliza Redmond a Chaser. From what Alistair remembered from their flying lessons during the first year neither Flannery nor Redmond weren't exceptional flyers in any way. But the Claws had trained hard, maybe even harder than Hufflepuffs, and they had been calm, too calm, about the upcoming game.

Alistair sat next to Marceline in the changing room where the team was discussing of the strategy to beat the Ravenclaws. He had always been welcomed to watch practices and take part on these before-game meetings even though he didn't play. Kerr continued explaining to them how to avoid Patil and Quirke, the Ravenclaw Beaters, without getting a bludger to the head.

"So that's why the safest way to pass Quirke is from her right", Kerr said, drawing few more lines on the chalkboard. "Okay?"

Toby and Marceline nodded in unison; they worked seamlessly on the pitch even if there were disagreements outside the games. Their new Keeper instead rolled his eyes, showing his complete disinterest. Ella instead grimaced.

"What if I get a bludger to my head?" she asked, frowning.

"Then you endure it", Kerr said simply. "But let's hope they won't hit newbies. Though Patil was a bit rough last year…" he mumbled thoughtfully.

Layla shuddered. It was going to be their first game of the year and everything she had learned had escaped from her head in the very moment she had changed on her Quidditch robes.

"Remember", Larkins whispered and placed his hand on Layla's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Only thing you need to think about is the Snitch. Cornfoot has more experience than you but his size should bring you advantage. You're small and light. You can do this."

"I can do this", Layla repeated. "I _can_ do this."

"Good, because we're going to the pitch now."

She let out a high-pitched squeak. "We are?!"

Alistair let a small laugh when Layla glanced at him, her eyes wide open and mouthing the words 'I'm gonna die'. As the team walked to the pitch, Alistair hurried to the stands where Mary, William, Jeremiah, and Lysander who had once again just appeared to their company were sitting. Mary smiled brightly.

"This will be so exciting!" she squealed, holding a badger plush she had bought before the beginning of the school year. William nodded in agreement even though he didn't care much about Quidditch.

"I hope Nargles haven't mucked up their brooms", Lysander stated, fumbling his teeth necklace. "I saw few in the broom closet this morning."

Alistair knew well enough not to question Lysander. Instead he looked at the pitch where the Captains were shaking hands. The game was about to begin.

* * *

It wasn't unusual that Slytherins weren't interested in the games they weren't playing. Despite that the whole Slytherin team was sitting on the stands, though Rosier more reluctantly than others. Sophia Goyle had made clear that Hawley won't be sitting with them and distracting Rosier from the game. After all, Goyle who was still holding the captaincy had after the victory in the year's first match decided that this year the Quidditch Cup belonged to Slytherins. She was already simmering with anticipation when the Ravenclaw team marched to the pitch. They wouldn't play against each other until February but a little preparation couldn't hurt. And in this case it meant every one of them would have to pay close attention on how the Claws played.

"The Snitch and the bludgers are out!" Emil Creevey, the commentator, exclaimed and fourteen brooms flew up in the air. "Ravenclaw's Redmond has the quaffle! – Redmond passes to Corner – Corner back to Redmond – there goes the bludger, Redmond passes the quaffle to Darcy and even avoids being hit by the bludger! Excellent broom work!"

Many of the Ravenclaws on the stands whooped and whistled loudly. Even the positively ancient Professor Flitwick had stood up; how many books there were under his feet Ven didn't even bother to think.

"Darcy whizzes towards the goalposts and towards the Hufflepuff's Keeper! What will Kim do?" The Keeper kept his place in front of the goals but Darcy hurls the quaffle right past Kim, making it look like a child's play. "And Darcy scores! Ten points to Ravenclaw!"

Ven grimaced. The goal would have been easily prevented if Kim had moved more instead of just hovering there. What had the Hufflepuffs been thinking when they had taken that imbecile to their team?

"What a team play from the Ravenclaws!" Creevey announced, scanning the pitch and seeing the bludger being hit towards the Ravenclaws. "Ooh! Nice move from Larkins, the bludger hits Darcy's broom and knocks the Chaser off the balance! Quaffle to Hufflepuff! Jones has the quaffle – a swift pass to Appleby – passes to Alnwick… No! Quaffle flies past Alnwick! Redmond catches! Was Alnwick even awake or just sleeping on her broom?"

Ven could see Kerr yelling at Alnwick even though he couldn't because of the distance hear what the Beater was actually saying. Appleby had snatched the Quaffle back but she lost it as quickly as she had gained it.

"Are Hufflepuffs just fooling around?" Marcel mocked, stuffing his mouth full Honeydukes Best Chocolate. "That's–" he swallows. "–that's just ridiculous!"

Darius crossed his arms when Darcy scored again, and Corner right after him. "Hufflepuffs are gonna get slaughtered if they continue like that", he scoffed.

"Alnwick is barely able to keep her broom in the air and Kim has, and he will, let the quaffle through every single time", Hawley hummed. "Worst. Players. Ever. Even for Hufflepuffs."

"Concentrate on the Ravenclaws then", Sophia hissed menacingly.

It was a small miracle when Hufflepuff managed to even the situation when Jones and Appleby managed to score after minutes of passing the quaffle between each other and with Kerr dropping Redmond from her broom. But it was 70-10 even then, only a Snitch could–

"The Ravenclaw's Seeker has noticed the Snitch!" Creevey squeaked with enthusiasm. All eyes turned on Dorian Cornfoot who plunged towards the flying golden ball in the middle of the pitch. The Hufflepuff's Seeker dove behind him and for a moment no one knew what was going to happen.

* * *

"Does it hurt much?"

Layla flinched as Toby pressed a rag on Layla's nose. The bludger had hit her quite hard. Alnwick glanced nervously around the changing room and did her best to avoid looking at the blood that had trickled down Layla's chin. Layla gave a feeble smile.

"It's my ego that's hurt", she muttered. "I really thought I… Never mind. I'm sorry I couldn't catch the Snitch."

"Nah, you did well", Kerr said. "Patil just has a good aim. Who cares about–?"

The door was slammed open and Larkins stepped to the small room, Alistair and Lysander following him. The older Hufflepuff dropped his bat on the nearest seat, giving a disappointed sigh. The team knew what had happened: Kim had quit. Larkins drew his wand and kneeled down in front of Layla. Toby took away the bloody rag, revealing the damage to the rest of the team. Alistair grimaced at the sight.

Larkins waved his wand. "_Episkey._" When the spell was complete he nodded, satisfied. "How is it?"

"Better", Layla said, touching her nose. "Thanks."

Lysander sat down next to Marceline and whispered something into her ear, his face unreadable as always. Marceline nodded and her brows knitted together. "Of course I know", she whispered. "I almost heard it through the door."

Larkins paced back and forth. "As you can see, Kim isn't in the team any more", he said as calmly as he could. Alnwick gulped when Larkins looked at her. "And it came clear Ella isn't much of a team player."

"I got scared!" she defended herself. "There were bludgers and–!"

"If someone here should be afraid of bludgers it's Layla!" Toby roared and stood up, squeezing the bloody rag in his fist. "She got a bludger to the face whereas you were too petrified to even catch a quaffle!" He would probably had attacked Alnwick, girl or not, if Alistair and Kerr hadn't stopped him. "You're a bloody coward!"

"Jones, calm down!" Larkins bellowed. Toby reluctantly sat back down when Kerr finally let go of his arm. His arm was most likely going to bruise later.

Alnwick's lower lip quivered. "It's not like I want to play!" she wailed. "Actually, I'm not going to play in the next game!" She ran out the changing room not even closing the door.

Marceline groaned. "Seems like we need a new Chaser again", she murmured, hitting the back of her head to the locker. "Any ideas?"

"We'll think about that later", Larkins hissed through his teeth and rubbed tiredly his temples. "Kerr."

"I have fire whiskey in my trunk?" Kerr suggested.

"Good. The meeting's over."

The Hufflepuffs walked back to the castle in silence. The sky was grey, heralding the upcoming storm. The weather reflected their feelings. The game had been a complete disaster, one of the worst losses in recent memory, and it had been against Ravenclaw of all the Houses. Layla sighed, her breath coming out in a small puff. Alistair walked on her left, holding her hand in his, a comforting gesture, nothing more. She bit her lip a little, looking first swiftly at Alistair, and then at Toby who walked on her right, his hands stuffed on his pockets.

"Toby", she said at last, drawing the Chaser's attention. She stretched her hand out and gave a small, reassuring nod. Toby shot an unsure glance at Alistair who just gave a small smile. And Toby hesitantly took the offered hand.

"It will be alright", Layla whispered after a while. "It's almost Christmas and we'll be spending it here at Hogwarts." She smiled, gripping tighter on both hands. "Together."


	37. Chapter 37 The Yule Ball

Chapter 6. The Yule Ball

Finally the awaited Christmas Day had arrived. The Ball would start precisely at eight in the evening and most of the students had spent the whole day on getting ready for the night. Ven didn't bother to worry. Instead he sat in the common room, watching other Slytherins come and go in a rush. He had promised to pick up Sarida from the doors of the Great Hall when the Ball would officially begin. Maybe he would even be stylishly late.

Darius and Marcel chatted loudly in the very same room, waiting for their respective dates. Even Ven could freely admit that Lucinda Cross in her long misty white dress and natural curls looked attractive, tantalizing even, when she came from the girls' dorms. Like a modern Snow Queen or something like that. Acacia Rosier in her dark red, matching with Hawley's coal black suit, and Varvara Rycroft in night blue followed her but they remained on the shadows whilst Lucinda glowed like a morning sun. Darius' smile reached from one ear to another when Lucinda took his hand. June Carolina, a fifth year student, in her very un-Slytherin-like frilly pastel pink dress almost jumped on Marcel, giving him a kiss on his cheek. They were actually second cousins but since Evanna Cringe, the new Slytherin Seeker, had rejected Marcel and left Hogwarts for Christmas had Marcel asked his cousin. Nevertheless, Ven couldn't care less were they related or not.

"You coming?" Scorpius asked, fixing his bright green tie. Apparently neon colours were coming back into fashion. "It's quarter to eight already."

Ven gave a crooked grin. "I'm not in a hurry."

"You're going to make her wait, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

Scorpius sighed, rolling his grey eyes. "Well, I'll see you later?"

"Sure", Ven drawled. When I manage to ditch my date, he added silently and watched as Scorpius and a group of seventh and sixth year students left the relative peace and quietness of the Slytherin common room. Soon he would have to leave as well. Have to and have to, he groaned. He didn't actually have to. He could just stay where he was and let Rai handle the Ball without a date. Surely there were boys who would like to dance with her.

"Screw this", Ven cursed and got up. It was just one night anyway.

* * *

Alistair was pleased to get a break. Larkins had asked if he could dance with Layla for a moment and the petite Hufflepuff had agreed. Alistair sighed. Though dancing with Layla was easy, his feet were already killing him, and it wasn't even 9 o'clock yet.

"Here." Jeremiah handed Alistair a glass of punch and sat next to the blonde Hufflepuff.

"Thanks, JP." Alistair took a sip of the punch. Apple and cinnamon, and a hint of cardamom and mint, not a bad combination, he mused. "Where's Mathilda?" he then asked as he didn't see the tanned Ravenclaw girl anywhere near them.

"She went to bathroom with Eliza", Jeremiah replied. "And Layla…?"

"Dancing with Larkins", Alistair replied easily. He tried to find Layla from the crowd of dancers without success but instead he found someone else. "Is that Gennifer Parker with William?" Alistair asked suddenly. "That girl in black dress?"

Jeremiah scanned the crowd of dancing students and nodded when he finally found the couple Alistair was pointing at. "Oh, yes. That's Gennie", Jeremiah stated and emptied his glass. "Gennifer, I mean."

Alistair frowned. William and Gennifer were clearly enjoying each other's company. A bit too much actually, Alistair thought when he saw William's hand caressing Gennifer's cheek. Jeremiah laughed when he noticed the intense glare Alistair was shooting at Gennifer and William.

"Hadn't you heard Chastity broke up with Will over a letter?" he asked

"No", Alistair said, a little taken aback. "Neither of them had said me anything." His eyes wandered where the mentioned boy was waltzing with the Gryffindor girl. "William must be mad at her."

Jeremiah shook his head. "He's not, that's the point", he said. "I guess he and Chastity never really hit it off. And Will's had this terrible crush on Gennie since the hair colour incident. It's much better this way."

Alistair had to agree because, after all, what Jeremiah had said was true. William and Chastity's relationship had never been more than occasional snogging and Chastity talking about guys and flirting with them even when William was present. Now it seemed that from the start they had liked each other but it had never been more than a friendship instead of deeper feelings. They had just tried being together.

"It really is", Alistair said with a faint smile. Jeremiah nodded at that. Mathilda came back a moment later, taking Jeremiah with her back to the dance floor. Alistair chuckled at the stumbling, nerdy couple. But at least they were having fun.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Alistair grinned at Toby. "Since when have you needed permission for anything?"

"Sassy." Toby sat down and smirked. "Why are you sitting here all alone? Did Layla ditch you?"

"I'm taking a break", Alistair retorted and playfully punched Toby's arm. He left on purpose unmentioned the fact Layla was currently dancing with Larkins. "Where've you been whole night?"

"Drinking", Toby said. "And dancing. But mainly drinking."

Alistair rolled his eyes. "Figures. How much you've been drinking?"

"Not enough", Toby said simply before his face lit up. "But you can never guess what I just witnessed!" He pulled Alistair into a half-hug. "That dumbass Corner drank too much spiked punch and got in a fight with his upper class girlfriend and guess what! She left him! Ha-ha! Serves him right!" The explanation had a slurred edge and hiccup that followed meant only one thing.

"Seems like you drank the spiked punch as well", Alistair stated and uncurled from Toby's grip.

"Not the point, 'Listair", Toby hummed. "And it was good. It was all good. I feel better now."

That was the moment when Layla, alongside with slightly swaying Mary, decided to show up.

"Lizzie!" She whooped but when she noticed that her Ball date, and boyfriend, wasn't exactly alone she blushed bright pink. "Oh, Toby. Hi."

Toby gulped, his face awkwardly heating up as well. "Hi. Layla. I–" He suddenly made a sound of disgust and raised his hand over his mouth. "I don't feel so good anymore."

"Don't throw up here…!"

* * *

What a bad decision coming to the Ball had been.

The umpteenth song ended and Ven was already glancing around for an escape route. His fingers were getting numb because of the Gryffindor's death grip, his neck was itching because of the cravat, his cheek muscles were in pain because of the forced smiling, and as a result of sucky music and even worse company he just wanted to lock himself up in the Slytherin dorms. If he just could ditch Rai somewhere and–

"Hello, Sarida", the familiar blonde Slytherin said in a pleasant tone and tapped the girl's shoulder. "Can I borrow my friend for a moment?" Ven sighed. He didn't even remember when he had last been as happy to see Scorpius.

"Sure, I'll go get some punch", Sarida said with a bright smile and let go off Ven's hand. "But return him before the main event starts."

"Of course", Scorpius said pleasantly but when the girl was out the hearing range he snickered. Snickered! "You looked like you wanted to rather kiss the Giant Squid than dance a moment longer", he said, facing the threatening glare of Ven's.

Ven snorted. "And you realized that all by yourself? No wonder they call you smart", he mocked. "Thanks, though", he continued without the hostile tone when they walked out the Hall and out the castle.

"You're welcome." Scorpius sighed, sitting on the stairs in the cold winter air. "You didn't seem to have fun anyway."

"What gave it away?" Ven asked with a little grin and sat as well.

"Other than your face showing pure disgust?" Scorpius asked, raising one thin eyebrow. Ven shrugged, making Scorpius sigh. "If you didn't want to go with her then why–?"

"I don't have any particular reason", Ven stated. "Perhaps I wanted her to stop pestering me. Or maybe I just wanted to try reliving my painful dancing experiences. Or maybe, just maybe, I thought I could have fun. But enough of that, I'll be long gone before I need to return to the dance floor."

"So you really don't like dancing?"

"Not in particular", Ven retorted. "Which reminds me, why aren't you dancing?"

"Me? Oh. I kinda came here without a date", Scorpius said with a simple smile.

Ven stared at Scorpius like he had just grown another head. "Didn't you ask Potter's cousin to come with you?" he asked, surprised of how calm Scorpius actually was.

"I did", Scorpius stated easily.

Ven frowned. "Then why–?"

"Someone else had asked her first", the blonde explained. "And she had said yes."

"Well, go cut in", Ven prompted.

"It's not like it would matter", Scorpius explained. "We're not a couple."

"So have you finally given up?" Ven and Scorpius looked behind to see where the question had come from. Albus Potter cracked a grin. "Yo."

"I didn't think you'll be here", Ven remarked, noticing that unlike the two others, Albus was wearing his regular clothes instead of fancy dress robes. Albus shot him a glare and Ven smirked when Albus took a spot next to Scorpius.

"You're just happy to see me", Albus hummed and smirked as well. "But Scorp, really?" he sighed. "I knew how this was going to end. But would you have listened to me? Nah, I don't think so. What are you now, trying to keep your head up like that? You can cry you know. I'm only waiting for you to shed a tear."

Scorpius smiled warmly at Albus' antics. "Rose and I, we're still friends", he explained. "But I'm not after her. I still find her pretty and I like spending time with her but… She's not for me." He sighed. "And more importantly… she likes someone else."

"That's what I've told you since forever!" Albus exclaimed before the full message sunk in. "Wait what? Who? The Ravenclaw bloke she's dancing with?"

"They're just friends", Scorpius defended firmly like an overprotective brother.

Albus rolled his eyes. "All this time you spent fawning over her and that's how she pays you", he nagged. "Well, who does she like?"

"Sorry, I can't tell."

"What?! She's my cousin! Tell me!" Albus cried out and began violently ruffling Scorpius' hair. Scorpius squealed and tried to protect himself with no avail.

"She'll tell you when she's ready!" he laughed. "Stop it! You're messing my hair!"

"That'll be my sole purpose until you'll sing like a proverbial canary!"

* * *

Alistair walked Toby out from the bathroom, gaining mixed looks from the students they passed on the way back towards the Great Hall.

"How much did you drink?" Alistair muttered, helping Toby to walk straight.

"Too much apparently", Toby groaned. "My mouth tastes like shite."

"Not a surprise", Alistair sighed. "You just threw up. Want to go see Miss Perks?"

Toby shook his head. "Can't you just help me to the dorm?" he pleaded, his voice raw and hoarse. At least he now knew he shouldn't drink.

"I need to make sure Layla knows where we are", Alistair sighed. "Then we'll go back to the dorms and–"

"Oh, right, Layla." Toby snorted, interrupting Alistair. "Your pretty little_ girlfriend._"

He made it sound like a string of curse words. Alistair rolled his eyes, knowing very well at Toby was drunk and he wouldn't most likely even remember what he was saying now when he wakes up from his own bed next morning. He made Toby sat down.

"Just wait here. I'll be back in a few."

Toby just huffed and Alistair took that as a sign to leave. Instead of the classical music the alternative wizarding rock blared from the speakers as the _Flick through the Wall _performed on the magically built stage. Alistair passed a very angry looking Sarida Rai and made his way through the crowd of happily screaming students, looking around for Layla. He felt immediate relief when tables were turned and Layla was the one to find him.

"Lizzie!" Layla grabbed Alistair's arm.

"Layla! I was just–"

"What?"

"I said–!"

"I can't hear you!" Layla yelled, beckoning her ears. She dragged Alistair from his sleeve to the other end of the Hall. "Where were you?" she asked when they were finally far away enough from the stage and could actually hear what they were saying.

"At the bathroom", Alistair explained quickly. "But listen, I was just looking for you and–"

"Lizzie." Layla cut in and stared at Alistair in all seriousness. "We need to talk."

And all the relief Alistair had felt a moment ago were flushed away in a blink of an eye.

* * *

The night was freezing and the three Slytherins had moved back in from the cold to warm up. Albus had given up on asking who the object of Rose's infatuation was when Scorpius had instead asked about Albus' own love life. Ven had smirked knowingly and the messy haired Slytherin had blushed, muttering something inarticulate under his breath. It wasn't that Scorpius didn't know as well; Albus' sneaking out the dorm at night wasn't a very well hidden secret even though, thanks to the Map and the cloak of invisibility, he hadn't gotten caught since the beginning of their third year.

It was nearing the midnight; the Ball would end in less than an hour and Ven was more than ready to follow Albus and Scorpius to the dorms where he would cherish his warm and comfy bed without the tasteless rock music reaching him. He wasn't that lucky.

"Zabini!"

Ven grimaced as furious Sarida marched towards him. The Wizard God was truly against him, he groaned. Sarida's voice was fuelled by anger and disappointment when she cried out what she probably had been thinking the last hour.

"You…! You arse!" she shrieked fiercely, her russet eyes slanted as she glared at Ven. "You ditched me! How dared you?!"

Ven just shrugged at that, not answering. Sarida was correct: he had indeed ditched her. Sarida waved her hands furiously and her curls fell unattractively from her bun as she continued to yell. She had all rights to be angry but it didn't mean Ven had to care. He didn't care about Sarida Rai an ounce more than he had cared about Acacia Rosier. He had disliked them both, stupid girls as they were in his eyes with their annoying girly habits and high-pitched voices. But at least Rosier had noticed that she and Ven would never become a thing and so she had left him alone and they had fixed their acquaintanceship in the classes and on the pitch. It had been a relief for both of them alike.

Sarida hadn't gotten that yet. And after all, Ven would never find Sarida worth pursuing, or even worth his time. Going to the Ball with her had been a mistake. Ven looked around the corridor, closing out Sarida's voice. Some other students were leaving already as well though the band was still playing. A group of Hufflepuffs, Ven recognized. He knew them by looks; they were from his year, and even if he didn't really remember their names they wouldn't go unnoticeable by him.

Alistair Nott instead was an exception since Ven remembered his name without even trying. He was helping up that noisy friend of his who had been sitting on the floor and leaning to the wall, appearing to be almost asleep. Ven watched the group carefully, perhaps he was even staring. He wasn't sure anymore. Upon seeing Ven, Nott waved at him and an uncertain smile appeared on his lips before he quickly turned away as Jones, the bumbling idiot who had apparently managed to drink too much, clung on his arm and almost made them both fall over.

"Look at me when I talk to you!" Sarida yelled, her face distorting into a feral grimace. Ven turned to glare at the raging Gryffindor. "Have you even listened to me?!" she cried out.

Ven gazed around the hallway. The Hufflepuffs weren't there anymore, and for some reason it angered him more than just having to talk with Rai. "For a start", Ven began bitterly. "You're hardly worth listening to. Secondly, your voice is giving me a headache."

Sarida gasped, her hand flying to cover her gaping mouth but Ven was far from done.

"I don't like your attitude. You're brash and irrational. You're too stubborn to notice the fault in your actions. Shortly, you're a bloody idiot."

"Why are you being so mean to me?" Sarida wailed, her rage fading by the blunt words and being replaced by a shock. Few students had stopped to listen to them and it only brought more fuel to the flames. Some older Gryffindor rushed back to the Great Hall.

"Because I don't like you", Ven snarled, baring his teeth as he answered the question. "Was that clear enough for you?"

He was simmering on the inside, scorching even, and telling what he was thinking instead of concealing it and just avoiding the problem made him feel good. It made him feel free.

There were tears on Sarida's eyes but she didn't let them fall. She was unstable and she took a feeble step forward before laughing manically. "Not like a Slytherin like you could ever understand how I feel!" she cried out as Glocksworth and Yale ran to her side and kept her from collapsing. "But I will make you understand! I'll make you like me back! You'll see! You'll _like_ me!"

Ven grimaced, not bothering to even look at the Gryffindor girl when he left the hallway. He walked down the Slytherin staircase, gritting his teeth. He would never like her. She wasn't for him. Damn, he wondered if there ever would be anyone. Someone who wouldn't have completely different mindset from his, someone who didn't lack the empathy Ven didn't know he graved for. The common room was half-empty; only a couple of seventh year students were kissing on the couch when Ven entered the snake pit.

Scorpius and Albus were fast asleep. Ven loosened his tie and kicked off his shoes before falling on his bed, not even undressing from his dress robes. He stared the ceiling and deeply regretted ever getting involved with Sarida Rai.


	38. Chapter 38 Truths and Rumours

Chapter 8. Truths and Rumours

After the Yule Ball and the hangover that had spread over the school population were over the holiday continued peacefully, or as peacefully as it could continue. Few days after the Yule Ball there had been several rumours going around of what had happened between Ven and Sarida, making Gryffindors and Slytherins become more hostile towards each other than they had been in a very long time. Of course, the situation had calmed down after a while.

Ven hadn't bothered going to eat at the Great Hall in days. It was much easier to either sneak to the kitchens or ask for the House elves to bring something to the dorm than face the Gryffindor girl. Sarida Rai had made herself very clear; Ven was going to be hers and that was it. Even Rosier had showed some sort of pity towards her tanned classmate.

"The holiday is over soon", she said as casually. "Gonna hide under your bed till then, are you Zabini?"

"None of your business, Rosier", Ven growled from the couch.

Rosier shrugged. "But you know… if you need some female advice–"

"Then you'll be the last one I'll ask for it", Ven concluded.

The New Year – just like the Christmas Day and Halloween were – was an awaited day at Hogwarts. A group of seventh year students from the elective Charms course had been in charge of planning the night's feast and its aftermath.

"I heard there's going to be fireworks", Darius stated eagerly and high-fived Marcel when the group of Slytherins was leaving for the late night's supper at ten in the evening. The seventh year students had evaded few rules when planning and so the curfew was removed for the day; the supper had been postponed and younger students were allowed to hang around the castle and its grounds the whole night. The Forest was, of course, still off-limits.

"Zabini, are you coming?" Scorpius asked Ven.

"I'm not interested", Ven replied indifferently. "And before you ask–" At this point he glared at the blonde Slytherin. "– it's my own choice and has nothing to do with Rai. Just stop worrying so much about me, Malfoy."

"If you say so but if you need–"

"Seriously? Have you turned into Rosier or something?" Ven snarled.

"Have I what?"

Ven waved his hand dismissingly. "Nothing. Just go watch those fireworks. I'll go see if Miss Page has some books she would recommend."

Yes, library would be a good place to calm nerves, Ven thought when he had finally convinced Scorpius to join Darius, Marcel, and the rest of the Slytherins. Ven hated being babied by his classmates, even if it were just Scorpius and occasionally Rosier. He was independent. He didn't need them to protect him.

* * *

The New Year had ended with a bang. The seventh year students had bought the whole collection of fireworks from the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and fired them from the Astronomy Tower. The night sky had been filled with the most marvelous colours; it had been truly fascinating sight.

But after that it had been the returning back to school life. The Professors were exceptionally strict about all the essays the students were meant to write during the holidays. Even Jeremiah, who was known for his good grades and being always on time, wrote only three feet essay for Astronomy a night before it was meant to be returned because he had forgotten the whole thing. Luckily Professor Dogwood was much kinder with his students than Professors Blishwick and Norwood were; he accepted even the half-done ones without publicly scolding anyone.

"You will be having your OWLs next year", Dogwood explained. "We all expect the best from you. Studying hard is important if you want to get good, or at least decent, grades then. And no, Mister Turner–" Anthony lowered his hand when the professor looked at him with a kind smile. "–we're not demanding you to ignore your friends or stop having fun."

There were relieved sighs all over the Tower. "The thing is about balancing the two", Layla whispered to Mary who was being very nervous, and not just about the OWLS but also about their upcoming final exams of the year. Layla smiled. "You can do it", she said. "I can help you with Charms at least."

Toby instead seemed like he couldn't care less about the exams. "I'm aiming to be a professional Quidditch player", he hummed when the class was dismissed for the night. "That's 100 percent fun and zero percent work."

"You know it's not quite like that", Alistair said seriously.

"Oh, right. I forgot the skill. Maybe it's about 60 percent fun and 40 percent skill?"

"You're joking, right?"

Toby rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm joking. I'm not an idiot. Though I really am aiming to play Quidditch for living but don't mean I won't do my best with the exams. DADA will be easy-peasy but Potions… Well, we'll see."

"Speaking about Quidditch", Alistair started uneasily. "Is the team still–?"

"Lacking players?" Toby sighed glumly. "Yeah… But we'll find the replacements. I heard Kerr has possibly found someone to play Chaser but that's all. I don't really want to think about it. The last game… It sucked, okay."

"Well, it's Valentine's Day soon", Alistair said with a kind smile. "You'll get something else to think about."

Mentioning the Valentine's Day was apparently a wrong thing to do. For a split second Toby looked like he was going to punch Alistair.

"You and Layla going on a date, right?" he asked through his gritted teeth while they walked down the Hufflepuff staircase. "A nice walk around the lake and flowers and stuff. Have fun with that."

Alistair halted. "Umm, no?"

Toby grimaced. "What?"

"We're not going on a date."

"And why not?"

"We broke up after the Yule Ball", Alistair explained, toning his voice down as a prefect passed them. He and Layla didn't go around yelling about it. Toby instead wasn't as subtle.

"You WHAT?!" he cried out and even grasped Alistair's shoulder with force. Alistair flinched but before he was able to explain any further Toby continued yelling. "I don't believe you! Why would you leave her?! She's perfect! You hear me!? PERFECT!"

"I-I WASN'T HER TYPE!" Alistair practically screamed over Toby's yelling and hoped their voices wouldn't reach their common room. Toby blinked sheepishly and somehow he seemed more childlike than in years.

"I… You… She… What?"

"Toby, my shoulder's going to bruise", Alistair muttered, holding back his laughter. He was going to have a lot to explain. Though he would have to leave out his and Layla's little agreement.

* * *

The second task had been some sort of treasure hunt held less than two weeks after Valentine's Day, not that Ven cared about the Tournament anyway. Valentine's Day on the other hand had been a completely different matter. That cursed day had only lead to another fight between Ven and Sarida which caused almost the half the class getting detention. Blishwick had been completely furious.

"You know", Rosier started while munching bubblegum and reading the front page Daily Prophet he had taken from Ven during the breakfast barely a week after the event she called 'the greatest potions lesson since Albus' cauldron explosion'. "Maybe you just have very strong bitch-attracting pheromones?"

"And you know–" Ven snatched back his paper from the girl. "–I don't really know why you care so much."

"That's such a great question", Rosier said her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Because I like you, that's why."

"I'm not interested in you", Ven said simply and wished Albus and Scorpius hadn't left the Hall already.

Rosier rolled her eyes. "As if we haven't had this conversation already", she drawled. "I like you _as a friend_, you incompetent arsewipe. Besides I'm dating Hawley. I want to help you stay away from girls like Sarida Rai, Catherine Berwick – don't you dare to say anything!" she yelled when Ven was about to interrupt her. "I saw her checking you out! Oh, and Fiona Penn. Damn, she can be annoying sometimes."

"I think we also had a conversation about me not wanting your help", Ven said.

"Bloody ha! You may not want my help but you fucking want it! Admit it, Zabini! The truth is you wouldn't find your true love even if she would stare you in the eye!"

There were several 'ooh's and Ven felt Sarida Rai glaring daggers at him from the other side of the Great Hall.

* * *

Toby instead had been overly happy after the Valentine's Day. Alistair sighed, watching Toby confidently cutting dandelion roots for their draught. With poor concentration, he added after his dorm mate accidentally cut on his finger as well while goggling at Layla. They hadn't even gone on a date together but the thing was Layla hadn't gone on a date without Toby either. Apparently that was called a progress.

Yeah, right, he thought and healed the small cut on Toby's finger.

"Are you gonna come to watch the practice?" Toby asked when the class ended and smiled at Layla when she left with Mary. "Kerr got us a Chaser so we're training him. You know, he can't be worse than Alnwick. So, you coming?"

"Nope. I'm helping Professor Longbottom at the greenhouses today", Alistair said and gathered his books, accidentally toppling his ink-bottle. He huffed and started cleaning the mess he made.

"Teacher's pet", Toby snorted and stuck out his tongue. "JP, you coming?"

"I promised to have an essay session with Will and Gennie", Jeremiah said. "And I need some help with Transfiguration. Exams are near, remember?"

"How can I forget?" Toby grimaced. "Everyone reminds me of them. Every. Single. Day."

"Well", Alistair hummed. "You can't say we didn't tell you."

"Oh no! I'm being surrounded by boring academics!" Toby yelled theatrically. "Oh, please! No, the exams!"

"A-hem." Professor Blishwick glared sternly at the three Hufflepuffs who were still in her class. "If I recall correctly I dismissed the class already. Do I need to take points from you three?"

It didn't take more to have the Hufflepuffs out the dungeons.

* * *

"I hope you all have slept well", Sophia said, pacing back and forth in the Slytherin chancing room. "Because we–" Her knuckles made a cracking sound. "–have worked our arses off for this match. But so have the Ravenclaws. It will be a pleasure to slaughter them on the pitch."

"Damn, she can be scary", Darius muttered, his voice drowning under Sophia's laughter. Marcel nodded in agreement. Their Captain was a special case, hiding her almost maniacal lust for winning behind her chilly demeanor.

Bulstrode instead whooped. "Let's go win this game!"

Sophia Goyle, the team's Seeker Evanna Cringe by her side, lead her team to the pitch. Rosier elbowed Ven before getting on her broom.

"What now?" Ven hissed.

"Just so you know", Rosier said and grinned. "Girls like Quidditch players. Just a rumour though."

"I'm going to push you off your broom."


	39. Chapter 39 Au Revoir

Chapter 9. Au Revoir

The Slytherins had won the game against the Ravenclaws. Evanna Cringe had managed to catch the Snitch within the first fifteen minutes of the game, much to the Ravenclaw team's disdain. The Ravenclaws hadn't shown their exasperation towards the Snake House. They had been exceptionally calm to be honest. Even if they wouldn't be able to win the Quidditch Cup there was a chance to get their claws on the House Cup.

Hufflepuffs instead, after being slaughtered by the Ravenclaws before Christmas and then losing against the Gryffindors with extremely reluctant Ryan Kim – no one knew how Larkins had persuaded him back to the team – as their Keeper, were on the very last place and so both, the House and Quidditch Cups were that year out of their reach. Of course, their time glass was still half full, thanks to the students like Mary and Jeremiah.

"No luck?"

Larkins shook his head sullenly at Kerr's statement. The girl Kerr had asked for their Chaser had apparently refused to play in the game against the Slytherins even though she had taken part on the practices and played against Gryffindor. From what she had said to Larkins she didn't want to play against the House her boyfriend was in. Toby groaned and sat down on the pitch. He was getting frustrated by the situation.

"What do we do now?" Layla asked. She was sitting between Alistair and Toby, letting their practice Snitch flew around them. Marceline hadn't yet joined them on the pitch and for some reason Scamander hadn't been watching their practices in a while. Larkins shrugged.

"I have no idea."

"I heard you guys are missing some players."

The warm, familiar voice made the Quidditch players look sharply to their right. Slightly tanned and widely grinning Timothy Finch-Fletchley and chuckling Valerie Ropisque walked across the pitch. Ropisque's hands were already spread and before anyone could say a word she was pulling her teammates one by one into friendly hugs.

"When did you two get back?" Toby asked eagerly when Ropisque had released Layla from her embrace.

"A while ago", she answered with a smile but didn't bother to explain any further. "We were more needed here than in Beauxbatons."

Finch-Fletchley was quickly filled in about their losses during the school year and he nodded solemnly even though it was clear that hearing about their last place bothered him. "Well, it's good that Val and I are here", he said. "You got your Keeper and Chaser back. So what about we kick those snakes back to the dungeons!"

"We have a full team!" Larkins whooped. "Where is Marcie? I could kiss her right now!"

"Hey, I can hear you!" Kerr laughed and Larkins threw his arm on Kerr's shoulder.

"Sorry, sweetie!"

Their small moment of happiness was interrupted when a small girl who wore her black and yellow scarf tightly around her tiny neck run to the pitch, yelling incoherently. It took a while until Alistair recognized her as Tori Kittredge, their fellow Hufflepuff who was only couple years younger than them. She panted and barely got a reasonable word out her mouth.

"I don't know what really happened! She… She just collapsed and…!" she wheezed. "She's…! She's now at the Hospital Wing!"

Kerr bent his knees so he was on Tori's level. "Calm down. Who's in the Hospital Wing?" he asked.

Tori was on the verge of tears. "A-Appleby…!"

It took three seconds from Kerr and Larkins to start rushing towards the castle. While running back to the castle Alistair heard clearly how Ropisque cursed the fact they couldn't apparate at the Hogwarts grounds unlike in Beauxbatons where all students over third year were allowed to do so. The distance felt terribly long to run.

"Marcie! Marcie, babe, are you alright?" Kerr asked, rushing to the Hospital Wing. In the hospital bed lay barely comprehending Marceline Appleby. Her gaze wandered on her teammates who had appeared to her side. She clearly tried to smile but it looked more like grimacing.

"I'm–" She coughed. "I'm sorry…" Her skin was almost pea green and something distinctively drool-looking trickled down her chin when she tried to speak again. "Jean, I–"

"It wasn't your fault", Kerr reassured her immediately and grasped her hand. "It's okay, you'll be okay…"

"Out the way!" Miss Perks exclaimed and shooed Larkins and Toby off her way and gave Marceline a bucket just before she threw up. "Now is not a good time to be here", she continued sternly. "If you could leave now–"

"Shut up!" Kerr shouted and held Marceline's hand tightly in his own. His tone took even Miss Perks by surprise. "The Hell I'm leaving Marcie here all alone!"

Marcie raised her eyes from the bucket and smiled faintly. This time her smile even resembled an actual smile but it disappeared as soon as it had appeared as she vomited again. Toby grimaced at the sight.

"What happened to her? When will she be alright?" Layla asked worriedly, gripping on Toby's arm.

"It's too early to say was it some sort of poisoning or a rather nasty hex", Miss Perks sighed. "It will, nevertheless, take days to fully recover…–"

"But Miss Perks!" Larkins interrupted. "We have game in two days!"

He glanced at Flinch-Fletchley who looked as helpless as Kerr and Ropisque who had known Marceline way longer than Toby, Layla, and Alistair had. Alistair bit nervously his lip. Miss Perks was getting rather annoyed at them. She crossed her arms and glared at the Hufflepuffs.

"Well you better find a replacement for her, then!" she said. "Miss Appleby won't probably be able to leave her bed in _a week_!"

Kerr was at last allowed to stay with Marceline whereas the others were practically pushed out the Hospital Wing. The team had just gotten Flinch-Fletchley and Ropisque back and now they were once again a member low. They all knew Marceline wouldn't be in the condition to play against Slytherin. Larkins kicked the wall and cursed.

"This can't be happening", he growled. "I thought we couldn't have more problems than we already had but no… Fuck!" He kicked the wall again and Ropisque patted his back.

"If we could get someone, _anyone_, to join us", Layla murmured. "It doesn't matter who as long as they can keep their broom up in the air…"

"Yeah", Toby drawled. "But where can we get–? Oh." He stared at Alistair who was just standing there unsure of what he should be doing and a mischievous glint lit Toby's eyes. "Hey, 'Listair", he cooed. Alistair shook his head frantically as he realized what was going on in his friend's head.

"No way, Toby. You know what happened the last time I was on a broom. You know I can't fly! I can barely _hover_!"

Finch-Fletchley had apparently perked up by the conversation. Ropisque and Larkins glanced at their Captain, wearing matching expressions. There was hope.

"That will be enough", Flinch-Fletchley said slowly, a grin appearing to his face. "If you're going to be _a Keeper_."

* * *

The news about Finch-Fletchley and Ropisque's return as well as about Appleby's stay at the Hospital Wing reached the Slytherins in the morning at the Great Hall.

"Who do they think they are, huh?!" Goyle snarled and Bulstrode had to keep her sitting down so she couldn't march to the Hufflepuff table and hex someone. "Coming back like that!?"

"It doesn't change anything, Sophia", Bulstrode said gently and moved a lock of blonde hair behind Goyle's ear. "They don't stand a chance against us anyway."

"True that!" Goyle shrieked and hit her fork through the plate. Bulstrode rolled his eyes and muttered '_Reparo_' to fix Goyle's plate while she had already stolen his and was currently eating scrambled eggs in a very unwomanly manner.

"Thank Merlin for Bulstrode and his freaky Goyle taming skills", Marcel whispered, seeing their Captain calming down.

"I still want to stay as far as I can from her till the game", Darius murmured. "She's scary as hell when it comes to Quidditch."

The day went past painfully slowly. Professor Binns' class was complete misuse of time, making the Charms – where they were rehearsing Seize and Pull Charm which they had learnt last year – almost bearable though it was utterly boring in Ven's opinion. Goyle had been furious about the Hufflepuffs booking the pitch for the whole day and made the team listen to her talking about new tactics in the common room.

The next morning wasn't much better. The team was supposed to go straight from the breakfast to the changing room and that was what Ven would have done if he hadn't almost trip over his own legs after almost walking into Alistair Nott. He almost lost his temper before he managed to get a better look of the Hufflepuff. Ven raised his brows, looking at the attire Nott was wearing.

"Going to the pitch, Nott?" Ven asked and didn't even try to cover the disbelief in his voice.

"Oh, well, yeah, I'm a…" Nott looked unnaturally nervous and beckoned his helmet. "I'm a Keeper, you see."

"They made you… a Keeper?" Ven couldn't keep his tone neutral. He had never seen Nott flying but apparently he hadn't been worth considering since the Hufflepuffs had had Kim staining the Keeper's spot for two games and so his words came out rather rudely. Nott's face reflected the words immediately. He was redder than ever and he avoided looking at the Slytherin.

"They kinda did", Nott muttered.

"It's fine", Ven said quickly and Nott raised his eyes from the floor distrustfully. "You can't be worse than Kim anyway", Ven stated reassuringly and gained a smile. "And I promise to try not to be very rough", he continued and Nott blushed.

"I thank you in advance for sharing me from the possible bruises", Nott said. Ven snorted but Nott just smiled at him.

"Whatever", he mumbled at last.

"So let's have a nice, fair game", Nott said softly and offered his hand for a handshake. Ven rolled his eyes but accepted the handshake anyway.

"Yeah, sure, why not."

As if 'having a nice, fair game' was on Ven's control anyway.

"Where've you been?" Darius inquired when Ven appeared to the Slytherin changing room where the rest of team already were. Goyle was explaining their tactic which included lots of violence and dropping people of their brooms. Of course Bulstrode corrected most of her ideas but the basics were all the same: drop the Chasers – and even better, the Seeker – off their brooms, keep out the bludgers' way, and score.

"Outside", Ven said, not feeling like he had to explain why he was late. He was opening and closing his fist. His hand was still feeling a little warm though he knew it would impossible to be caused by the handshake. Though Nott had had very warm hands, he thought. He looked up to see Rosier frowning at him.

"Do you have cramps or were you wanking just a minute ago?" she remarked.

"Rude", Ven snorted, pushed his hands into his pockets and smiled. "It's none of your business."

Rosier practically beamed at that as if she knew something Ven didn't but the young wizard had no chance to ask about it because Goyle had just ended her demonstration, leaving their chalkboard full of messily drawn lines, and she was ready to lead her team on the pitch. Rosier grinned and watched Ven's every step.

The Hufflepuffs were already there. Goyle went to shake hands with Finch-Fletchley before getting ready to get on her broom. Ven let his wander at the Hufflepuff team. With Finch-Fletchley and Ropisque back they had actually pretty good line-up. His eyes met Nott's who smiled at him before clumsily rising in the air and holding on his broom with the rest of the Hufflepuff team. Ven rolled his eyes. Who was he kidding?

Madam Hooch whistled and the bludgers, quaffle, and the Snitch were out.

"Hufflepuffs have the quaffle!" Emil Creevey eagerly announced. "It's good to see Finch-Fletchley and Ropisque are back from Beauxbatons! Here we go! Ropisque passes to Finch-Fletchley – back to Ropisque – to Jones – and back to Ropisque again! Seems like the Hufflepuffs are playing for time! They aren't even close to the goalposts!"

Goyle grimaced. "They are toying with us", she snarled and swung her bat. "But not for long… Ferguson!"

"I'm on my way!"

"And there goes Ferguson!" Creevey exclaimed when Marcel swooped at the Hufflepuff Chaser to break their formation with Rosier on his tow. "Jones to Ropisque – good move! – Wait!"

"Val, look out!"

Hufflepuff Captain's cry was seconds too late; a bludger flew straight towards the Chaser. The bludger hit Ropisque's shoulder with a menacing crack.

"Ouch! That must have hurt! Rosier has the quaffle! Passes to Zabini – from Zabini back to Rosier – apparently Ropisque has a broken shoulder! The odds sure aren't in the Hufflepuff team's favour! And Slytherin scores!"

Rosier whooped happily after scoring but Ven couldn't help but glance at Nott who hadn't had a chance to prevent her from scoring.

* * *

Alistair's knuckles were white for gripping so tightly on his broom. The match had been far away from a fair game he had wanted and time passed very differently now that he was on the pitch and not on the stands.

"You're doing well!" Larkins yelled at him. "Be confident!"

"I don't know if I can!" Alistair cried out.

He had let the quaffle through seven times already. Hufflepuffs instead had scored twice: first when Flint had dodged the bludger Kerr had hit and for the second time by pure luck. They had taken damage, more than usually. Ropisque's shoulder had fractured and both Toby and Finch-Fletchley had several bruises after colliding with the Slytherin Chasers in order to get the quaffle. Kerr had fallen from his broom after their first goal and hadn't been able to play after that. Layla was unharmed, Alistair saw her flying on the other end of the pitch where she was looking for the Snitch but she had been aimed at several times.

Quidditch was indeed a very violent game.

"I have couple Chasers to drop!" Larkins shouted at Alistair as he saw a bludger coming his way. "Just try to relax a little and it will happen naturally!"

Alistair gulped. _Okay. Okay, I can do this. Just be confident._

"… – Zabini passes to Rosier – Rosier back to Zabini – from Zabini to Ferguson – Larkins hits the bludger!"

Alistair saw the bludger breaking Zabini's broom handle before his eyes locked Ferguson who was aiming for the loop furthest from Alistair. There was a chance, he could do it. Alistair stopped breathing and forced the broom to move. Just a little bit more… And he managed to catch the quaffle, much to Ferguson's annoyance, and toss it to Finch-Fletchley just before the commentator's voice echoed on the pitch:

"Evanna Cringe has caught the Snitch! Slytherin wins the game 220-20!"

The Slytherins on the stands cheered and the teams got back down. Hufflepuffs gathered around Kerr and Lysander; the pale blonde had conjured snow and was holding a snowball on the back of Kerr's head.

"A big bump and maybe a concussion, nothing worse", Kerr joked. "Perhaps I can get a bed next to Marcie at the Hospital Wing?"

Larkins laughed. "And that's all you've been thinking, isn't it?"

Finch-Fletchley and Ropisque ignored the lively chatting. Ropisque made a face when Finch-Fletchley ordered her to move her broken shoulder.

"_Ferula_", the Captain muttered and Ropisque merely flinched when the gauze appeared around her shoulder. No one seemed too bothered about losing, though Layla muttered under her breath that she had seen the Snitch before Cringe.

"And that last save was amazing!" Larkins said and ruffled Alistair's hair. "Slytherins didn't see that coming!"

"I didn't either", Alistair mumbled, giving an ashamed smile and held the helmet in his hands. "It just happened."

"That's how it should be!" Kerr exclaimed. "An instinct!"

"Well, it's a good thing you have a Keeper for the next year ready", Finch-Fletchley said and gave Alistair a thumbs up. "More practice and that'll be it."

Ropisque nodded and Kerr and Larkins were eagerly recruiting Alistair. Alistair shot a panicked glance at Layla who merely shrugged. She's agreeing with them, Alistair's subconscious shrieked like a banshee. Toby wasn't on his side, either.

"You could come to Auntie Gwenog's place again this summer", he suggested. "I'm sure Iris is dying to see you!"

"She had her nose fixed!" Alistair exclaimed and went beet red. He and Toby gained curious glances from their teammates. "Besides I knew I wasn't meant to be a Beater! I'm not meant to be a Keeper, either!"

"Too bad!" Larkins laughed.

"Welcome to the team", Kerr added. "Keeper!"

* * *

The atmosphere in the Slytherin changing room was jolly. As it had been their last game of the year they were mostly discussing who were staying in the team next year. From what Ven was listening, they all were staying. Yet another year under the rule of Sophia Goyle, he thought. Goyle was a good player but a bit of a dictator.

"Can that even be fixed?" Darius asked while changing clothes. "Your broom."

Ven shrugged, pulled his shirt on, and looked at his damaged broom. Perhaps it could be fixed but he had been thinking about getting a new one. His Father had money to spare anyway.

"Maybe", he said dismissingly.

"Could I take it home?" Darius asked. "My parents are pretty good when it comes to fixing things. They used to play Quidditch against each other in their youth and they've fixed more broken brooms than you can imagine."

"Sure", Ven said and let Darius take his broom.

"Thanks! I'll owl you if they manage to fix it!"

Eventually Ven was the last one in the room. Well, not literally the last one. Cringe had been first to leave and Marcel and Darius had followed her almost immediately. Apparently Marcel hadn't given up on her. Goyle and Bulstrode had left after backing their Quidditch supplies and in a first time in a while the changing room looked empty.

"Rosier, stop staring at me, it's starting to get on my nerves", Ven snarled and threw his bag on his shoulder. "What do you want?"

Rosier hummed and followed Ven outside. "Well… You know it's okay if you play on the side of the pitch", she said not as nonchalantly as she had intended. Ven's stomach churned.

"I have no idea what you're talking about", he said coldly, making Rosier frown in frustration. Her brows knitted together and she moved in front of Ven. Her eyes shone with determination.

"Stop being so difficult and admit it!" She grabbed Ven's forearm. "That's why you didn't like Rai! You prefer–!"

"Stop bothering me and go see Hawley!" Ven cried out. His outburst made Rosier loosen her grip of his arm and in a spur off moment Ven pushed Rosier. She fell on the grass and the shock was evident in her face but only for few seconds.

"Fine! Be in denial! See if I care!" she exclaimed. "You heard me! See if I care!"

* * *

Ravenclaw had won the last Quidditch match of the year when they had played against Gryffindor. Not even Luke Corner had rubbed their victory into anyone's face. And eventually, as it was written in the Daily Prophet, Vasil Ivanov from Durmstrang had won the Triwizard Tournament. The Hogwarts students returned from Beauxbatons two days later. Chastity babbled non-stop about how wonderful her year had been and Layla and Mary were just happy to get their bubbly dorm mate back and so they just listened to her patiently.

"The school was so beautiful", she said with deep, happy sigh. "But Hogwarts is home. I'm happy to be back!"

"What? Didn't any handsome bloke want to keep you there?" William joked.

"Well, well, well", Chastity purred and ignored William's question. "I heard you were dating Gennie Parker. Fraternizing with an enemy, aren't you?" She began fiercely poking William's chest. "And I hear about it from the poor Lizzie here! When were you going to tell me? Huh?"

Finch-Fletchley and Ropisque looked around the Great Hall wistfully. They wouldn't come back anymore since they graduated.

"Take care", Finch-Fletchley said and fist bumped both Larkins and Kerr. "Win the Quidditch Cup for me."

"You can bet on it!" Larkins said.

"Au revoir, Mon Captaine!" Kerr said. "We'll be rooting for the Wasps when you make it to the team!"

"Now there's nothing I need to worry about", Toby said, digging into a bowl full of pudding. He had managed to get through all his exams, with good grades even with a slight exception of Potions which he barely passed. "Except for Quidditch, of course!"

"What about the upcoming OWLs?" Layla asked with a grin.

Toby's face twisted into a horrified expression. "No talking 'bout exams!" he exclaimed when he regained his composure. "No way! Nuh-uh! It's summer!"

Alistair laughed at them. He exchanged owl addresses with Lysander and Marceline who had been released from the Hospital Wing.

"I'll send you Wrackspurt Repelling Charm", Lysander said serenely. "My Mother makes those for her friends."

"Really? Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"What the hell is a Wrackspurt?!"

END OF THE YEAR FOUR.


	40. Chapter 40 Bonus: Shipping Ensues

Chapter 10. BONUS: Shipping Ensues

Sorry it has taken this long to finish this year. The Quidditch League, and later the Christmas holidays which I spent with my family, took most of my time.

But now the fourth year is officially over. The Triwizard Tournament was held, Layla and Alistair dated and broke up, Ven said no to Sarida Rai, Hufflepuffs struggled with Quidditch, the very last bit of Scorose in this fic died, and Chastity had fun in Beauxbatons. That was it. The fourth year summary in its shortness. Now we can move on. Or can we? I really want to write a spin-off one-shot of the Ravenclaw boys (Luke, Emmett, Leon, and Claude), and maybe a longer fic about Crane and Chastity in the Beauxbatons but I've no idea when I would actually have time to write those.

This fic has reached almost 6000 views! I'm quite excited since this was the first multichapter Harry Potter fic I started writing (this was actually my very first HP-fic) and I never thought it would get this many views. SO A BIG THANKS TO ALL READERS. I LOVE YOU LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS! Have a biscuit.

And as you know these bonus chapters are just info. Read if you want.

* * *

The Yule Ball couples that made their way to the final version and the couples that didn't:

Alistair and Layla came to the Ball as a dating couple. Alistair danced only with Layla whereas Layla danced also with George Larkins and Jean Kerr. Mary came to the Ball with Marvel Brooks, a prefect and a fellow Arithmancy Club member. Toby instead came with a third year Hufflepuff, Alice Halloway, who was most likely ditched after a while. Jeremiah came with Mathilda Knoxweed, a Ravenclaw. William instead spent the whole Ball with his long time crush, Gennifer Parker, a Gryffindor Seeker.

Very reluctant Ven and his date Sarida Rai danced together for the better part of the first hour before Scorpius saved Ven from the situation. Scorpius instead came to the Ball alone but he most likely danced with some upper class Slytherins for a while. Albus didn't take part to the Ball; he was in the girls' lavatory for most of the evening. Acacia Rosier and Aiden Hawley, Lucinda and Darius, Marcel and June Carolina were with their respective dates the whole evening.

Rose Weasley came to the Ball with Emmett Darcy as her date but as told by Scorpius they were there only as friends. Luke came with his girlfriend but after they for who knows what reason broke up Luke left to the Ravenclaw Tower, probably to sleep off his drunkenness. Claude didn't take part in the Ball and his sister Chastity was notably absent as well. Though not said in the chapter the Ravenclaw Beaters, Rashid Patil and Ravenna Quirke, as well as the Slytherin Captain Sophia Goyle and Marlon Bulstrode, came to the Ball together as a couple.

Originally Alistair was meant to go with Mary, just like Toby was meant to go with Layla, but for obvious reasons (such as Alistair and Layla dating) the couples changed. Ven was supposed to go to the Ball with Acacia but I did let Sarida have her chance. Didn't go too well, did it? Scorpius and Lucinda, who had broken up with Darius, was another pair that didn't happen. But that was because Darius and Lucinda got back together.

In the very first version of this year Chastity didn't leave to Beauxbatons. Instead she went to the Yule Ball with Liam Redmond, a Ravenclaw prefect. Well that got obviously scrapped and Chas was having a good time with some Beauxbatons blokes instead.

* * *

What to ship and stuff like that:

It really seems like people are shipping Ven with Sarida. Heck, even I ship Verida but I have another ship planned for Ven. If I ever decide to make an AU of this story (if that would even make any sense) Verida would be considered canon there.

Toby and Layla are in their very own category. They are a big ball of wibbly wobbly cutesy jealousy stuff. Yes, Layla was trying to make Toby jealous. And yes, Toby thought Layla liked Larkins but that was before Layla started dating Alistair. It's pretty hard, eh? When the girl you like dates your best friend. Toby and Layla really remind me of Ron and Hermione…

Kerr, Larkins, and Marcie instead are one big threesome in a way. Kerr/Marcie is love, and Kerr/Larkins is BROTP. Just… Jean Kerr. I like Kerr. I have right to like my own characters, don't I? Marcie was, just so you know, poisoned by Slytherins. None of them were in the Slytherin Quidditch team, though.

Ooh! And Crane and Delvaux! Crap, I had that pair planned even before starting writing this but it wasn't HP Fanfiction then. But they're a couple. Chastity knew it before Crane figured it out. Chastity instead is a free spirit. She ain't got time for dating.

And as you know, Scorose died. Rose has another guy in mind. But Scorpius and Rose will stay friends. They just weren't meant to be.

* * *

The last chapter was longest chapter in a while. I've tried to write a bit longer chapters and I've even considered rewriting the earlier years but that will be done after finishing fifth year if ever.

But yeah, the fifth year starts soon. We're over half-way through. Thank you all for sticking with me. And I love reviews even if they were just 'where's the new chapter?' or 'I like this' or anything in between! Reviews make my day!

The plot thickens. Or not. Who knows? Not the writer apparently.


	41. Chapter 41 Diagon Alley Once More

Hooded Spellcaster is proud to present THE FIFTH YEAR in her story 'SLYTHERIN PRIDE, HUFFLEPUFF PREJUDICE'.

A/N: We've got this far! Wohoo! Everything what has happened beforehand has lead to this year and there is a pile of sketches on my desk about the plot (what plot?) and the characters and everything. I'm now rewriting the first chapters (I changed my mind about waiting till the end of the fifth year) but I'll also post new chapters when ever I can. So, umm... Enjoy the story?

Fifth Year Summary: Alistair Nott is a Hufflepuff. He's kind and smart and sweet... and obviously straight. But that's not a problem. You see, Ven Zabini is a Slytherin, and Slytherins always get what they want. Or do they?

Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter because _if _I did Deamus would be canon and Fred would still be alive. So all recognizable characters and parts of Harry Potter storyline belong to J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros. respectively. I don't make any profit by writing this. Thank you.

* * *

Chapter 1. Diagon Alley Once More

Ven was thankful that during the last weeks of school Rosier had completely ignored him, if he didn't count the glares she shot at him. He didn't need her to… to blame him for not wanting to listen to her. When the year was over he was relieved. But it was hard to say goodbyes to Albus and Scorpius without seeing how they acted around their families. Ven didn't smile when Albus bantered with James and Lily or when he hugged his mother who scolded him for not wearing glasses. He didn't smile when Scorpius' mother kissed Scorpius' forehead in front of him and Albus. They were so happy and it hurt.

Ven summoned Tabby, his family's house elf, to pick him up. It had become a habit.

"Welcome back, Master Ventus," Tabby said happily after apparating to the Zabini Manor living room from the King's Cross. "Young Master hasn't been home since last summer, Tabby is happy."

Ven gave a small smile even though he didn't feel like smiling. "It's good to be home, Tabby," he said instead and petted the house elf's head. "Is Davis here?"

"Has barely left, Sir," Tabby said with slight disdain. The elf quickly changed her tone and continued eagerly. "Does Young Master want Tabby to make something to eat? Tabby would be happy to serve."

"Could you just take my trunk to my room?" Ven asked. Tabby nodded.

"Anything Young Master wants," she said and disapparated with a loud pop, the large trunk disappearing with her. Ven rubbed the back of his neck and looked around the room. Nothing had changed during the past year. Even the book he had left unfinished was on the table but there was no layer of dust covering it. Tabby was doing good job.

Ven left the living room and walked through the hall to the main door. The manor was a suffocating and unfriendly place after all the weeks he had spent at Hogwarts. He wanted some fresh air. Ven rested his hand on the silver door knob when he heard clicking of heels.

"Ventus. I thought I heard you arriving."

Tracey Davis smiled and sounded awfully pleased as she walked down the main staircase. Her hair was short but still longer than Ven recalled and the muggle suit had been changed to a long dark blue dress.

"Davis," Ven replied coolly. "I heard you're still here."

Tracey looked a little taken aback. "Yes, I am." She sounded a little hurt and she walked slower and kept her distance from Ven. "Listen, Ventus–"

"It's Ven," Ven corrected automatically and Tracey flinched.

"_Ven,_" she started again. "Can't we just try to act civil around each other?"

Ven moved his hand away from the doorknob. Would there be some sort of trick? Tracey had never shown a will to get along with him, except when she had convinced Blaise to by him a broom. She had been quite civil that year. Last year they hadn't even talked a lot due to Ven staying at Hogwarts during the holidays.

Tracey smiled faintly and continued: "I know we haven't really gotten along–"

"That's an understatement," Ven said and crossed his arms. "Is Father at home?"

"He was called to the office this morning," Tracey said and chose to ignore Ven's try to change subject. "Ven. We _should_ talk."

* * *

The Nott house was warm and inviting. Every room, even Theodore's study room, was filled with children's toys and soft music played on the background. Ana was waiting on the door when Alistair and Theodore returned from the train station. Theodore pecked a kiss on her cheek when passing her in the hall.

"Dinner's almost ready," Ana told him before she turned to Alistair. "Welcome home," she said to with a motherly smile.

"Hi, mother," Alistair greeted and looked at the small girl hiding behind Ana's legs. Thalia had grown a lot. She had a thick blonde hair and same brown eyes as Alistair, the features that were straight from Ana. She tumbled away from the door after locking her eyes with her brother who had been away for the most of her almost 16 months.

"Give her time," Ana said gently when she noticed her son's expression. "She doesn't know you the way you know her."

"I know," Alistair sighed and took off his shoes. "What's for dinner?"

"A chicken casserole," Ana replied and Alistair followed her to the kitchen where Theodore and Thalia already were. She sat down and beckoned Alistair to do the same. She smiled. "What about you tell us how did your school year go? You sent only few letters."

Alistair looked thoughtful. "Well…"

* * *

Ven sat in the Zabini Manor library. Across his sat Tracey Davis from the Ministry of Magic. Damn, Ven didn't even know what department she was from, not that he cared anyway. What he cared about was why Tracey was so eager to have a conversation with him. Tabby had brought them tea but he didn't want to drink. Tracey instead took a tentative sip before looking at Ven. She was far from the calm and collected woman Ven had met when she had came to the manor for the first time. Now she was unsure. Timid even.

"I talked with Blaise," she said and placed the cup on the small table between them. "And he wanted me to talk with you."

"How nice," Ven drawled.

"He wanted me to talk with you about Maria Amell."

It felt like a bucketful of ice water had been poured on him. Ven turned to Tracey; he was practically glaring holes at her. How dared she mention his mother? Who did she think she is? Tracey seemed to notice Ven's hand twitching as if he would use his wand against her but she continued anyway.

"I know I can't replace Maria," Tracey said, managing to keep her voice steady. "But I also know I can never part of this family if you can't accept me. For you this may sound ridiculous but I–"

"You want to be part of this family?" Ven hissed at her and stood up. "So you want me to give you my blessing or something?!"

"No!" Tracey cried and stood up as well. Even with heels she was shorter than Ven. "That's not it! I just want you to understand how I feel! Do you think I want to become some sort of stepmother to you? No, but I'm ready to try and do it if it makes Blaise happy and because he loves you I'm willing to try to get along with you but you're making this so complicated!"

Ven flinched at Tracey's words. He hadn't thought about it that way. Tracey sat down and hid her face on her hands. Ven sat back down as well. Of course he had seen it. He had seen his parents weren't particularly happy together. They weren't… in love.

"Have you liked him for long?" Ven asked when Tracey sniffed.

He didn't want to look at her. He didn't want to see her reaction. There was a moment of silence when neither of them said a word. But when Ven finally gave in and glanced at Tracey she looked relieved but her eyes were glistening a little. She let out a choked chuckle. Ven was actually trying to have a conversation with her instead of either ignoring her or countering her questions and it was already an achievement for her.

"Longer than I can remember." She laughed a little. "Though I remember hating his guts at the time. Blaise has never been good to talk about his feelings. He is so stubborn... I suppose you've taken after him."

Ven crossed his arms but raised curiously his brow. "I take that as a compliment," he murmured. Tracey's grey eyes twinkled, and not just because of tears, as she smiled.

"Please don't", she laughed. "Stubbornness wasn't, _isn't_, one of his best traits. Actually…" Her brows knitted together and she huffed. "Back at school he was so demanding and arrogant and he wanted everything to go like he wanted, he didn't want ask for help or admit he's been wrong and he…"

She silenced and looked at Ven who had started to look more and more like Blaise as he was getting older and the soft features of Maria were disappearing.

"Yes, my father actually sounds like every girl's dream guy," Ven drawled sarcastically.

Tracey laughed. "He really wasn't. But I loved him. I still do. I love all of him," she added quietly and a slight blush coloured her cheeks. Apparently she found it a little embarrassing that she was talking to the son of her long-term crush. "And I didn't really give up when he married Maria. A purely political marriage, he told me. Arranged marriages were common between pureblood families and I had seen it coming. So we stayed friends. Until…"

"Until?" Ven prompted.

"Until I heard Maria wanted a divorce…" Few tears trickled down her cheeks again. She swallowed and dried her eyes. "And he… he was so happy it was over."

Ven's stomach churned. "I see…"

"I know you miss her," Tracey whispered. "And I want you to know I don't want to take her place in your life. I just want to say your father deserves to be happy as much as you do…"

Ven stood up abruptly and avoided looking at the woman. "I'll be at my room," he murmured.

"Ven, I–"

"And Miss Davis," Ven continued, this time looking straight at Tracey. "Thank you. For telling me this."

* * *

The summer seemed to go awfully fast. Few days after Alistair's homecoming Thalia had started to actually like her brother; wherever Alistair went in the house, Thalia seemed to follow him. She still didn't utter a word if one didn't count her incomprehensible babbling but nonetheless Alistair found her adorable. Alistair couldn't even be mad at her when one of his Potions textbooks went through a makeover when Thalia had found it.

In the end of June Alistair had spent a week of his holiday playing Quidditch at Holyhead with Toby's family after Toby had personally come to see him in Bexley because Alistair had ignored all his letters. Toby had decided to make it his life mission to ensure Alistair will be ready for their first match when the fifth year starts. Iris had been less enthusiastic about the reunion but Nike had been friendly and explained everything she knew about possible incident that could happen to a Keeper during the game. Alistair wasn't as eager but at least his flying skills had improved.

Now the new, well not actually new since it was bought second-hand, _Cleansweep 221 _was waiting for the September 1st under Alistair's bed.

"Alistair! Your Hogwarts letter came! I'll open it, hope you don't mind!"

Iniga sat over the cupboard, suspiciously ogling the other owl when Alistair and Thalia came to the kitchen. Ana read the letter, nodding thoughtfully.

"What does it say, mother?" Alistair asked. He had Thalia on his lap and the small girl was curiously looking at the pendant resembling either a root or a horn, depending on which way one was looking at it. It was the Wrackspurt Repelling Charm Lysander had spent him in the very beginning of the holiday.

"The usual," Ana replied. "List of the new books you'll need." A small wrinkle appeared between her brows. "This will cost a lot. The broom itself was a bit expensive, second-hand or not…"

Alistair bit his lip. "I can use my savings if that helps?"

Ana let out a small sigh and she placed the letter on the table. Her smile was soft; she took Thalia from Alistair and pecked a kiss on his forehead.

"We can afford it dear, don't worry," she said. "Actually…" She looked at Alistair's clothes and shook her head. "Go change your clothes."

"What? Why?" Alistair asked on his way to his room. Yes, his old jeans and a worn-out t-shirt weren't the best possible clothes. Aunt Joselyn would have a heart attack if she was to see him. But they were at home where only Courty, their grumpy house elf, cared if they dressed up like muggles.

"We'll be leaving to Diagon Alley in ten minutes," Ana said before yelling to upstairs: "Theodore! Alistair's letter from Hogwarts came! I'm taking Thalia with us to Diagon Alley!"

"Be careful!" Theodore yelled from the study room.

Ana rolled her eyes and smiled. She was placing Thalia on the stroller when Alistair came back from his room.

"Okay," he said and took a deep breath. "I think I'm ready."

* * *

The relationship between Ven and Tracey was still chilly but it was slowly getting better. They had short conversations once in a while and didn't avoid each other like they had done before. But that by no means meant that Ven liked Tracey Davis. He _tolerated_ her.

Blaise mentioned that the case he had been working with was solved, and Ven didn't ask him to be more specific. For Ven it only meant that Blaise was going to be around at the manor. Tabby instead was more than eager to cook for three people and her disdain for Tracey wasn't as visible as it had been. Tracey was the happiest. When the usual letter from Hogwarts came she had practically glowed.

"I'll take you to Diagon Alley," she said brightly before Ven had even finished reading to the letter. "Wouldn't that be okay?"

Ven clicked his tongue in annoyance but under his father's eyes he didn't refuse. After all, Blaise had been visibly more relaxed since he had walked in on Ven and Tracey having one of their more peaceful conversations.

"Sure," he said and he was sure that from the corner of his eye he saw Blaise smiling.

September 1st was a week away and Diagon Alley was crammed full of witches and wizards of all ages. Ven looked the list of new books he would need to get for his fifth year. Tracey stole glances of the parchment, smiled, and led Ven from shop to shop to get books and equipment. After visiting Madam Malkin's robe shop, since Ven had outgrown his old school uniform, they only needed to get some basic Potions ingredients. Tracey growled at the sight of the Slug &amp; Jiggers.

"Well of course half of the Britain's wizarding population decides to come here today just because they're having a sale," she muttered and rolled up her sleeves. "Wait here."

Ven had no reason to follow Tracey who did her best to get into the Apothecary because she had asked him to stay behind. Not that he would have wanted to go into the crowed shop in the first place. Instead Ven stood a safe distance away from the shop and let his eyes wander around the alley. In front of the shop, surrounded by old witches, was a familiar, freckle-faced blond, watching a child in a stroller.

Ven swallowed when for whatever reason Alistair Nott decided to look away from the hook-nosed woman and direct his gaze through the mass of people and straight at him. Ven saw the recognition lit up the dark eyes and Nott's face gained colour and his lips curled into a shy smile. Nott hesitantly raised his hand for a wave and at the same time Ven took an advantage of a crowd of people walking between them and ran.

He stopped few dead-ends away and cursed. He didn't even know why he had run in the first place! It had just happened. His legs had made the decision when Nott had smiled at him. Ven's blunt nails dug into his palms. Yes, Nott had smiled at him. It had been infuriating and inviting at the same time and it annoyed Ven over the edge. His poor ribcage was assaulted by his beating heart.

He had to admit, even though he didn't want to do so, that he had just gotten a worst idea ever.

He wanted to see Nott smiling at him like that again.


	42. Chapter 42 Prefects and Bathrooms

Chapter 2. Prefects and Bathrooms

Alistair frowned. Actually he had been frowning since Theodore, Ana, and little Thalia had escorted him to the King's Cross Station. Thalia had been very reluctant to let Alistair leave; she had cried and cried but that wasn't the reason Alistair was frowning. He stared out the window and rubbed his forehead. He was going to get a permanent wrinkle between his brows if he kept thinking so hard.

You see, Alistair was sure he had seen Ven Zabini at Diagon Alley, and he was even surer his eyes hadn't lied.

He wasn't even sure why the encounter bothered him. They weren't actually friends but they couldn't be called enemies anymore either. They had just been acting civil towards each other since their third year and the accident. They were… something like acquaintances.

"But he could've even waved back," Alistair groaned and kicked his broom in frustration.

The door was roughly pulled open. "Heyy, 'Listair! I knew I would find you here!" Toby exclaimed and threw his trunk and broom into the small compartment.

"Yes, we've been using this same compartment since our first year," Alistair drawled and his lips slowly curled upwards and formed a grin. He was happy to be pulled back to the reality from his depressed thoughts. "No wonder I was sitting here."

"Weeell, how was the rest of your summer?" Toby asked and grinned widely.

Alistair crossed his arms and glared at his friend. Toby was, indeed, his best friend in the whole world and he would never trade him for anything. However, that didn't mean Toby couldn't annoy him with some of his traits. Like with his stubbornness and the way he just happens to mention something and yet he doesn't tell what it was about. This was one of those cases.

"Wipe that smirk off your face, _Tobias_, and tell me what was so great you couldn't tell it in a letter," Alistair retorted. Toby had sent Alistair several letters in a span of three days but never had he told what exactly was making him so delighted. There were only few things that could make the Toby he knew act like that. It had to have something to do with food, or Layla, or…

"I was made the Quidditch Captain!" Toby squealed in a very un-manly manner. "Can you believe it? I mean I can't be happier but it's just so unreal!"

"Congratulations, Captain," Alistair laughed at Toby's enthusiasm.

"Thanks." Toby grinned and rocked back and forth, unable to sit still. "By the way, have you seen Layla?" he asked eagerly. "I want to tell her the news. I actually thought she would be here with you."

Alistair shook his head. "I saw her earlier. She said she has to go to the Prefect meeting but she'll probably join us after patrolling a while," he said and smiled at Toby's expression.

"I really hope so," said Toby. His skin, though dark in colour, couldn't hide the fact his cheeks were flushed. "I just want to see her soon."

* * *

The train was finally moving. One might thought that after four years the long ride would start to feel shorter but that was utter nonsense. On the other end of the train – where Slytherins usually spent their journey – Ven was, like usually, reading. It was an easy distraction from the time passing and from the obtrusive thoughts about certain freckled Hufflepuff that had been invading his thoughts more often than he preferred.

For his luck he was brought back to earth from his trance by Scorpius before he had managed to chew his lip off. He raised his eyes from the book, put it away, and furrowed his brows quizzically.

"Malfoy? What're you doing here?" He didn't bother to hide his confusion when the blond stepped into their usual compartment. "I thought you would be with the other prefects?"

"I could ask the same thing from you," Scorpius said, pulling his trunk inside the compartment. "I thought you were made a prefect?"

"Well I wasn't," Ven said and stood up to close the door Scorpius had left open.

"Then who–?"

"Hey."

Ven and Scorpius turned to look at the talker. There stood Albus Potter, already in his school robes, his hair longer and messier than usually, and glasses pushed on his forehead. If anything, Albus Potter wasn't happy. There was a brand new, silvery prefect badge attached to his robe and he was doing his best to hide the offending accessory with his scarf.

"Have you seen Cross?" he asked in an annoyed tone and Ven moved away from the door and sat down.

"She's probably somewhere with either Flint or Rosier?" Scorpius suggested and held back his smile.

Albus groaned loudly. "Fuck!"

"I think you've missed out something." Ven grinned, not as modest as Scorpius. "There's this badge on your chest."

"Thanks for pointing it out," Albus snarled. "That's exactly _why_ I'm looking for Cross. She was made a prefect as well, for who knows what reason, but then she didn't come to the meeting and the new Head Girl, also known as my cousin Molly, decided to be a bitch about it."

Ven raised a brow. "And…?"

"And if I found Cross snogging with Flint somewhere I'm gonna kill her for skipping the meeting."

It was exactly something what Lucinda Cross would do – snog with her on-off boyfriend in some empty compartment or toilet or practically anywhere they wouldn't be seen. And if she wasn't with Flint, she would be with Rosier. And speaking about Rosier, she would have made a better prefect than Cross.

"Who else were made prefects this year?" Scorpius asked suddenly.

Albus tapped his chin. "Well, me and Cross–"

"Obviously," Ven drawled with a smirk.

"–Rosie and Yale from Gryffindor, Flannery and Knoxweed from Ravenclaw, and…" Albus pinched his nose as he tried to remember. "Macmillan and Greenden from Hufflepuff."

"Greenden?" Ven repeated in unnaturally high voice. Scorpius glanced at him suspiciously.

"Yeah, you know. The pudgy blond," Albus explained. "He's not that pudgy anymore, though, but you got the point. The one who always hangs out with Thomas and–"

"I know who Greenden is," Ven snarled sharply. "Why was _he_ chosen?"

Albus flinched. "Jeez, sorry, I don't know," he muttered and retreated to the corridor. "I'll be on my way, patrolling and such... I'll be back later. Bye Scorp, Zabini."

"See you later, Al," Scorpius said with a small smile.

Albus nodded at him before leaving. Ven instead bit the inside of his cheek. More than being annoyed that Albus had started to explain him something Ven couldn't care about, he was wondering why Nott hadn't been chosen instead. Nott would've been a good prefect; damn he would've been better than good. But no, someone just didn't realize the potential they're now wasting.

Ven breathed out. He shouldn't get so mad over the whole prefect thing. After all, he hadn't been made a prefect either. He should just calm down and stop thinking about Nott. He cursed inwardly. As if he hadn't tried.

"Hey, Ven," Scorpius started kindly. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is just fine," Ven growled and picked up the book he had been reading earlier even though he knew he couldn't concentrate on it anymore. "Couldn't be better."

* * *

The Sorting Ceremony had been terribly long but in the end the loyal House of Hufflepuff had been given the total of seventeen new badgers – ten boys and seven girls. Layla was happily chatting with them. Alistair smiled; she reminded him of Wilona Willopun, the girl that had been prefect when they had started their Hogwarts years.

It was weird, Alistair thought. It was already their fifth year but it felt like he had just been sorted, like he was taking part in the feast for the first time with the people he had grown to call his best friends. It was magical. It was unreal.

"Jere! You've been working out!" Chastity exclaimed, gaining Alistair's attention. Chastity squeezed Jeremiah's biceps and giggled. "Merlin's pants, these are hard muscle! Don't tell me there weren't magic involved!"

Jeremiah's face was gradually growing more and more red but Chastity made no move to stop. Alistair, Toby, and William snickered at their dorm mate's distress.

"Do you have nice abs as well?" Chastity asked playfully.

"Oh stop it, Chas," Mary said, being the only one to step on Jeremiah's defence. "You're embarrassing poor Jeremiah."

Chastity stuck out her tongue and crossed her arms, grinning nevertheless. "Killjoy."

Headmistress Blanchard silenced the Great Hall for her usual speech.

"Yet another year is starting here at Hogwarts," she said. "But as you know, the rules have stayed mostly the same. The Forbidden Forest is strictly forbidden for a reason, and in our current situation I must ask you to refrain from swimming in the Great Lake. Although the merpeople are our friends, we're not responsible for possible incidents."

Alistair heard few older students whispering but he didn't catch what they were saying.

"Also using magic outside the classrooms is strongly frowned upon," she continued. "This applies to all students. You may now move to your dormitories. Have a pleasant night."

The student began moving from the tables to the corridors. Layla quickly stood up and tip-toed, short as she was, to peck a quick kiss on Toby's cheek.

"I have first years to guide so I'll see you tomorrow morning," she said to Toby and smiled.

"Y-yeah, see you, Layla," Toby stuttered. "G-good night."

Alistair elbowed him and made kissing noises. "Good for you Chastity didn't see that. She would never let you forget that."

"You tell her and you won't live long enough to take part in your OWLs."

* * *

"Finally," Albus groaned and slouched into the fifth year Slytherins' dorm. He tossed his black school robe on his bed. Apparently Lucinda had left Albus to handle the new Slytherins by himself and sneaked out with Darius.

"Welcome back," Scorpius said. "How were the first years?"

Ven merely raised his eyes from the leather-bound notebook he had been writing on. It had been yet another 'let's-get-along' gift from Tracey Davis. She was actually slowly becoming more tolerable and not just because of these small bribes, as Ven still called them, but because Tracey made the manor livelier. She had practically moved in, and yes, she had also made some decorating. And Blaise was at home and out of his study room more often which was a big bonus. From what Ven had heard from Scorpius at the train neither Blaise nor any other Auror had visited their Potions shop in a while.

Albus loosened his tie and took a deep breath. "To put it short," he said. "They got on my nerves with their stupid questions. Like, a lot. But whatever, I'm out."

"What? Where you're going?" Scorpius asked in alarm.

"To the lavatory," Albus said and tried to smooth his hair a little. Scorpius looked at Ven as if asking for help but Ven just shrugged. It wasn't really his problem if Albus wanted to get detention in the very first day of the term just because he couldn't wait till morning to see his dead girlfriend.

Scorpius groaned. "It's past curfew," he tried, and failed, to calmly remind Albus. "You're being a bad example!"

"So?" Albus said with a smirk and straightened his glasses. "I'm a prefect now, I have my rights. So see you guys tomorrow at Charms!"

When the sound of Albus' footsteps' quieted down as a sign of him leaving the dorm corridor Scorpius fell on his back and groaned into his pillow.

"I'm never going to get used to Albus being a prefect," he mumbled.

"He'll abuse his power," Ven stated matter-o-factly and hid the notebook under his pillow. He knew well enough it wouldn't be safe in his trunk; he lived in the same dorm with Albus and Darius after all. What he wrote was no one else's business than his.

Scorpius sighed. "At least now we can see clearly why the Sorting Hat had agreed to put him in Slytherin."


	43. Chapter 43 Kissing Virginity

A/N: Hi, it's Hoddie here! This chapter starts a whole new part in this story so enjoy couple warnings for once: there's some non-consensual kissing, and Ven being an angsty, obsessing asshole.

And Sparkie, if you're reading this, I apologize in advance!

* * *

Chapter 3. Kissing Virginity

It could be said that time had passed too quickly.

Between classes, studying for the OWLs, and taking part in the Quidditch practises Alistair had barely had time for anything else. You see, Toby had made it clear– and it was something he wouldn't negotiate about – that Alistair was to continue as their Keeper and so, not so reluctantly, Alistair had agreed with him. The practises were a pain but it had all been worth it when Hufflepuff won Ravenclaw in their first game of the year.

The new Hufflepuff line-up wasn't actually that different from the previous year. Kerr and Larkins had kept their spots in the team, as had Marceline. Layla had continued as a Seeker and Kerr had even said she may become better than Rosalinda Moore had been. The biggest change had been Toby's choice for the new Chaser. Lysander Scamander was one of the last people – if Alistair didn't count himself – Alistair had ever thought would make it to the team. But true enough, Scamander knew practically all their tactics after watching the team's practises for nearly two years and he played together with Marcie. Jackson Dockery, who was a year younger than Alistair, had also tried for the team and he had been made a reserve.

It wasn't before the Valentine's Day when the Hufflepuffs had a moment to rest. If writing an essay about conjuring spells counted as resting. The Hufflepuff common room was relatively empty since most couples had left to spend time at Hogsmeade or had extracurricular activities. Alistair sat on the floor with Chastity and Mary. He bit his quill and almost jumped when Layla came into the room and without a further notice pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

"Toby kissed me!" she squealed.

"Congratulations," Alistair wheezed out when Layla let go of him.

"Took him long enough," said Chastity and smirked knowingly at Mary.

Layla practically glowed with happiness. "It was my first kiss," she sighed dreamily. "It was so… perfect."

"What? Did he kiss you in the locker room or something? Just kidding, good for you," Chastity joked and crossed her hands behind her head, leaning on the sofa. "I had mine... What, two years ago?"

"What? With who? Was it Will?" Layla asked curiously.

"Nah, Will and I never really snogged. Like ever. It was Liam Redmond," Chastity said proudly and examined her nails. "Ravenclaw Prefect. I think it was a dare but who cares."

"I haven't gotten my first kiss yet," Alistair admitted without even thinking.

Mary blinked. "You haven't?"

"Jeez, didn't Lelliekins practically live on your lap last year?" Chastity asked Alistair and punched Alistair's shoulder playfully. "You two never kissed?"

"Chastity," Layla warned but the grin was evident in her voice.

"I can't believe it. My little ones didn't even share a kiss," Chastity continued and rolled her eyes. "But you know, Lizzie, I could kiss you right now," she suggested jokingly and wiggled her eyebrows. "No need to wait, I can take your kissing virginity. Right here. Right now."

"No thanks," Alistair said and forced out a laugh. "I kinda want my first kiss to be more special than that..." Not to mention he didn't want that lip gloss of Chastity's even close to his lips. "No offense, Chas."

"Hey, I'm not offering again!"

* * *

Ven wasn't feeling just a little off anymore, no, he was feeling devastated.

Completely, utterly devastated rather by what he was feeling than what he was thinking. He had started feeling this stupid pull towards Nott, and it wasn't a good thing. It was the complete opposite. It was a bad thing and it was setting his teeth on edge. After having to watch Nott being with Jones, Macmillan, and the other Hufflepuff brats for months, he had been determined to get close to Alistair Nott in one way or another. He couldn't care less what anyone would think about that.

The more weeks passed the worse Ven felt. He was having problems with concentrating on his studies and Scorpius had started to notice it, asking about it more often than Ven cared to admit. Rosier was even worse than Scorpius; she silently judged Ven with her eyes as if knowing something Ven didn't know but rarely said anything to him if it hadn't something to do with the classes or Quidditch practises.

Ven bit the inside of his cheek and instead of listening to Professor Trelawney's tiresome babbling he was looking at Nott who was sitting with that small Seeker girlfriend of his on the other side of the tower. It would've been a lot easier if he didn't share so many classes with Nott. Or even better, it would've been great if he could've just had a conversation with the Hufflepuff but every time he tried something went awry for one reason or another.

The class ended and Ven consciously stayed behind when Scorpius and Darius left the Divination classroom. He knew Nott always took time to leave and so he waited until Nott was packing his bag. Ven cleared his throat.

"Nott."

"Oh, hi," Nott said and greeted Ven with a small smile. He tilted his head when Ven just looked at him silently. "Did you need something or…?"

Ven frowned. "No," he said bluntly and Nott blinked in confusion.

"Oh," was all he said. Ven mentally hit himself. How stupid can one be? He needed to say something else. His plan to approach the Hufflepuff was going to the entirely wrong direction.

"I was thinking if –"

"'Listair! Hurry up or we'll be late from History!" Jones shouted from the door. "Not that it would bother anyone anyway but just hurry up!"

"Sorry, I have to go," Nott said and touched apologetically Ven's arm and hurried after Jones. "See you at Transfiguration tomorrow?"

"Yes, sure," Ven said but his stomach churned in discomfort. He was now the last one in the class room and he was allowed to drop the calm façade. He kicked the table and a crystal ball rolled down. He felt horrible and felt like screaming. That awkward, clenching feeling in his chest didn't go away. That was when Professor Trelawney appeared from the backroom and kneeled down to pick up the ball.

"Did you forget something, dear?" she asked and held a crystal ball close to her chest. Her big, owlish eyes stared at Ven through the round glasses she was wearing. Ven shook his head. He had never liked Professor Trelawney.

"No, Professor," Ven said. "I didn't."

"I see, I see," she said quietly and sniffed. "Well, can't be helped." She patted Ven's shoulder. "You'll get through it."

But Professor Trelawney was wrong. It was getting worse, and Ven knew he would have to do something before it was too late.

* * *

The game against Slytherin was going to be the most important game of the year. After losing to Gryffindor they needed all possible points to win the Quidditch Cup. They had been training hard – five days a week, sometimes more, sometimes less – and with the last game of the year being only couple nights away their spirits were high.

"Hurry up, Liz!" Layla called. They were the last ones at the pitch after their Quidditch practices. "I'm not afraid to take points from you if I see you out during the curfew!" she joked warmly.

"Yes, yes! Just go already," Alistair said and packed the quaffle.

He swept away the layer of sweat from his forehead and smiled. He was feeling confident. Lysander's flying and team play had improved since their last game. They would actually stand a chance against Slytherins. Alistair picked up the box with the quaffle and raging bludgers inside and left to the changing room. He didn't get too far before a familiar voice called him and made him halt to the spot.

"Hello, Nott."

"Zabini? Hi." Alistair was surprised to see the Slytherin Chaser there since they very rarely walked into each other outside the classes even though Zabini had been talking with him more often than usually. Not that Alistair really minded it. It was better than being outright hostile towards each other.

But the reason why Zabini was out so late at the pitch could as well be spying, Nott thought glumly when he remembered the stories he had heard Kerr and Larkins telling to Scamander. Spying would suit the Slytherin nature but Alistair wanted to think it was just a coincidence that Zabini happened to be there. Nevertheless it made him wish Layla hadn't left already.

"Looks like the Hufflepuffs have a decent looking team play this year," Ven said but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. He was reserved. "Nice flying, too, I may add."

"Thanks, I guess?" Alistair said and unconsciously backed few steps from the Slytherin, holding the box tighter. "But, as you can see, I'm quite in a hurry and it's only half an hour till the curfew so..."

Ven raised a brow. "So what?"

"So I think I'm going now."

"You think?" Ven drew his wand hastily and pointed Alistair with it. "Well, I don't. Don't make me curse you before a big game," he hissed.

Alistair dropped the box when his back hit the wall. He hadn't even noticed he had backed away that much. Zabini was now close, too close. Alistair was scared and his heart was beating fast like it tried to get out of his ribcage. His breath hitched when Ven exhaled into his neck.

"What're you doin–?!" Alistair gasped. Ven kissed him with bruising force, hard and firm straight on his lips, and took advantage of his shock, slicking his tongue in. It took strength to push the Slytherin away and make words go through his teeth. "Stop..." This wasn't what he wanted.

Zabini smirked in a way which clearly said 'no'. Alistair didn't know what he had done to be treated like that. He had made sure no one, _no one_, knew he preferred males so it had to be a stupid joke or dare Slytherins had made up. He wanted to scream and shout but no more words came out and Zabini had a grip of his Quidditch robe, holding him on the spot.

"You shouldn't struggle..." Zabini's voice was low and hoarse. Alistair shuddered, tears forming in his eyes when the Slytherin touched his cheek and kissed him again, more gently but also for longer since Alistair couldn't push him away. His mind was screaming to get away but his body didn't want to obey even the simplest commands. Ven smiled against Alistair's lips and pulled away from the kiss. But he looked… disappointed instead of satisfied. He raced his wand down flushed Alistair's cheek and Alistair whimpered. The blond felt utterly humiliated.

Zabini frowned. "Hey…"

"_Expelliarmus_!"

The wand he had held loosely flew few meters away. Toby marched towards them. He wasn't anymore in his Quidditch robes which meant at least ten minutes had passed already. And regarding to what the copper skinned Hufflepuff had seen, he was sure Zabini had just been threatening his friend which wasn't a completely wrong assumption.

"Tch. Isn't it the Captain Jones", Ven hissed and glared at the Hufflepuff, backing away few steps and picking up his wand. "Attacking from behind." He clicked his tongue. "Not a very Hufflepuff thing to do."

"Shut your bloody mouth, Zabini!" Toby shouted and pointed his wand at Zabini. The Slytherin pocketed his wand and glanced at Alistair.

"I'll see you soon," he said. Alistair's heart jumped up to his throat and not in a good way. Zabini merely huffed at the Hufflepuffs and walked away like nothing had just happened.

Toby went to help Alistair who had fallen to his knees and was now breathing unevenly. He didn't remember when he had been as… scared.

"'Listair, you okay?" Toby asked and Alistair nodded lightly. Toby clenched his fists. "That bloody, foul, Slytherin git," he snarled. "I should have hexed him into the next week and back–!"

"Toby?" Alistair mumbled, looking down. "Don't tell anyone." He didn't want anyone to know how Zabini had humiliated him.

"What?! Of course I'll tell!" Toby said and helped the blond Hufflepuff up. "When Professor Buttonpress hears about this she'll make sure–!"

Toby was silenced by Alistair's gaze. It was filled with sadness and anger. "Please, don't…"

"Fine. I won't tell," Toby groaned. He had no idea what he was agreeing in. "Let's get back to the common room, okay? You can tell me everything."

* * *

A/N: Aaand it sucks to be Alistair. This last scene was the very first thing I had planned for this story and I tried to keep it as same as it was then. I originally wrote it in March 2014. That was almost a year ago! Jeez…


	44. Chapter 44 Not So Good Morning

Chapter 4. Not So Good Morning

"Fuck!" Ven cursed loudly. It had gone wrong. _Everything_ had gone wrong.

He had only wanted to see if Nott would smile at him warmly like he had done before. That's why he had come to the pitch. There were no other reason and it had been alright. Until Nott had been left alone... It had just happened. It had all happened in the spur of moment, the temptation had been too hard to ignore.

He didn't feel better at all. On the contrary, he felt _disgusted_. If Nott just hadn't looked like that he would feel better… Yes, that was it. Ven breathed out. He just needed to calm down and stop thinking, stop _caring_, that would help him like it had helped him before. He just had to keep going forward, and forget. He was going to be just fine.

In the corridor to the Slytherin common room Ven literally bumped into Albus. Not the distraction he had hoped to give him a break of his thoughts but kind of a welcome distraction anyway.

"Zabini? What're you doing here?" Albus asked, raising his eyebrows. "It's past curfew. I didn't know you liked breaking the rules."

"Shut the fuck up, Potter, I'm not really in a mood to deal with you right now," Ven spat. The words came out harsher than he had intended. "And if anything, I could ask the same thing from you."

"If you don't remember," Albus drawled and crossed his arms, his jolly attitude fading. "I happen to be a Prefect."

Right, of course Ven had forgotten a vital thing like that.

"Whatever."

"Hey, I wasn't done with you yet!" Albus barked when Ven walked to the common room entrance and muttered the password. "Where've you even been?" Albus asked.

Ven glanced at him icily. "Outside. Making myself look like an idiot."

* * *

Alistair had tossed and turned and barely slept at all, and in the morning even thinking about having to get up from the bed was harder than it had been in a long time. For his luck Jeremiah and William were already gone. He didn't want to face his dorm mates yet. Damn, he didn't want to face anyone if he was being honest. It was hard enough to see Toby's expression. Even though his friend had promised to not tell anyone about what had happened last night Alistair couldn't be sure about that.

The promise was put into the test right on the moment they stepped into the common room.

"Finally you're up, you lazy gits!" Layla huffed and crossed her arms. She had been waiting Toby and Alistair to join her for breakfast almost for half an hour. And it royally pissed her off.

"Morning, Layla," Alistair said, trying to act like everything was alright.

"Yeah, morning," Toby said.

"Morning and morning!" Layla whined, looking distressed. "Tomorrow we have a big game and you don't act like it at all! Where's your energy? Where's your will to win?" She rolled her eyes and groaned. "Well, good for you I have booked us the pitch for this evening. We'll get some last minute practice."

"We know the game is tomorrow," Toby said matter-o-factly and yawned. "I'm just tired. I was thinking late last night."

"Thinking? You?" Layla snorted but smiled nevertheless at her almost-boyfriend's words. "Hopefully about kicking some Slytherin butts!"

"Yes, I was," Toby said coldly. Alistair glanced at him, hoping his friend wouldn't blurt out why exactly he had been thinking about Slytherins. Or actually one Slytherin in particular. "Hey, Layla?" Toby started. "Was Dockery watching our practices yesterday?"

"Like every time," Layla replied with a shrug. "That's what reserves do. He's quite eager."

"Where's he now?"

"Probably at the Great Hall," Layla said. She was getting a little frustrated by the questions. "Toby, what's–?"

"I'll ask Dockery to play Keeper against Slytherin tomorrow," Toby said and crawled through the common room entrance, Alistair and Layla following him.

Now Layla was fuming. "What?!" she shrieked. "You can't name us a new Keeper just like that! Dockery doesn't–!"

"He does know how we play," Toby said calmly. Layla turned to Alistair.

"Liz, say something," she pleaded. "Say that this is just some pre-game madness. You'll play tomorrow, right?"

"I'm sorry, Layla," Alistair said and hung his head apologetically. "But if Dockery will be able to play..."

"What about the rest of the team?" Layla asked Toby instead. "Were you even going to ask us?"

"When I last checked I'm this team's captain," Toby said sternly but Alistair knew it took will from Toby to talk to Layla like that. "And I… I make the decisions."

Layla clenched her fists. "You can't..."

"Layla..." Alistair muttered and placed his hand on Layla's shoulder. She backed away and snarled.

Her eyes had narrowed as she bared her teeth. "Don't you 'Layla' me, Nott!" she shrieked and for a moment she resembled Professor Blishwick. Some younger Hufflepuffs passed them with fearful expressions.

"Well it's not like I don't want to play!" Alistair snapped back at her. "This is hard for me as well!"

"Let's go, 'Listair," Toby sighed to Alistair when Layla didn't say anything. "We've got to find you a spare." He looked at Layla. "And Layla," he started. "I don't think Kerr or Larkins has anything against Dockery. Appleby and Scamander like everyone who keeps out of their way. You're the only one with a problem. Really, and all you have to worry about is the Snitch."

Layla turned away and marched to the opposite direction.

Alistair sighed in defeat. "I'm sorry," he said.

"It's not your fault," Toby said. "If Zabini had attacked me I wouldn't want to meet any Slytherins, either."

"No, I meant about Layla," Alistair said. "And Dockery."

"It's fine."

* * *

"Rise and shine!" Darius sang and pulled the blanket off Albus. "Ooh, nice underwear, sleeping beauty. Time to get up."

"Wha–? No," Albus groaned and hugged his pillow in order to shield it from Darius. "No, I just got to bed like…" He opened his left eye and took a look of the muggle alarm clock on his nightstand. "…like two and half hours ago."

"What? Where were you?" Darius asked and tossed the Albus' blanket on the floor. He poked Albus' shoulder with a wide grin on his face. "Hey, tell me! Where were you?"

"…patrolling," Albus muttered dismissingly and reluctantly got up, mostly to push Darius away off his bed.

"Yeah, sure you were," Scorpius smirked and readjusted his tie. Darius snickered. Ven threw his legs over the edge of his bed and yawned. Of course his dorm mates decided to be exasperatingly loud early in the morning.

"Well you look fresh this morning." Darius grinned when he noticed Ven was awake. "Nightmares?"

"Actually I didn't sleep," Ven growled and his shoulder let out a crack when he flexed. "I wasn't tired."

To be honest he just hadn't managed to fall asleep so had read through the night and now his neck and shoulders were stiff, causing a slight headache.

"Are you coming with us to breakfast?" Scorpius asked Ven when Albus had managed to dress up and Darius was pestering them to hurry up.

"I'll just go straight to Transfiguration class," Ven stated, stuffing his text books into his bag. He wasn't really hungry.

"Jeez, what's wrong with you today?" Darius blurted out. "You don't even like Transfiguration!"

"True," Ven said and looked straight at Darius. "But I don't like you either and yet I still live in the same dorm with you."

He was sure he heard Albus whispering the word 'burn' under his breath.

* * *

Jackson Dockery almost choked on his pumpkin juice. Toby raised his brows and stared down at the younger student who awkwardly wiped away the trickle of juice.

"You seriously want me to replace Nott?" Dockery looked first at Toby, then at Alistair, then again at Toby, trying to figure out if they were just joking around. "Like _seriously_ seriously?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm quite serious about it," Toby drawled. "Nott can't play and you've been watching us for the better part of the year. And I know you can play. So, can be our Keeper?"

"Please," Alistair whispered when Dockery didn't answer.

"How could I say no?" Dockery said at last. A wide grin spread on his face. "The game's tomorrow, you've got the pitch booked, right?"

Toby raised a brow. "You're in, then?"

"Of course I'm in!" Dockery laughed. "I haven't actually played since the last summer so I'm going to need all the practise I can get! You know, I really need to get on the broom before the big game!"

Toby laughed as well. "Thanks, man," he said and high-fived the bulky young Hufflepuff. "We owe you."

"Don't worry about that," Dockery said and waved his hand nonchalantly. "But don't you have a class to attend?"

"We have double Transfiguration with Slytherins," Alistair told quietly. Dockery didn't seem to notice Alistair's tone.

"Lucky gits," he said and stood up from the table. "Oh well, I'm off to Divination."

"Aren't you late already?" Toby asked. The Great Hall was almost empty.

"Nah." Dockery shook his head. "Ol' Trelawney mentioned that some higher power might slow me down. This'll be it."

"Sneaky," Toby said. "Too bad that won't work with Norwood."

"Or Blishwick," Alistair added.

"Well, see you later", Dockery said and swung his bag over his shoulder. "I'll be at the pitch by six."

"Better be on time," Toby joked. He took couple pieces of toast, stuffed a cauldron cake into his mouth, and got ready to leave the hall. "Well, off to class. 'Listair, you coming?"

Alistair shook his head. "You go without me. I'll just head back to the dorms."

Toby's brows furrowed. "You sure? I mean, yeah, Norwood is as dry as a sandpaper but are you sure about skipping his class?"

"Yeah." Alistair smiled faintly. "I don't feel like I should be there."

* * *

Ven looked up from his notes when that jerk of a Hufflepuff appeared to Transfiguration classroom in the middle of Professor Norwood's speech. Professor himself didn't look pleased when his class got interrupted.

"You're late, Mr. Jones," he said dryly. "But I overlook your tardiness this time. You may sit down."

"Thanks, Professor," Jones said and sat down next to Thomas to munch a toast. He didn't even take the text book out of his bag!

Ven let out menacing hiss. But if Jones had came to the class alone so where was Nott? Nott never skipped his classes so where the hell he was?! Ven gritted his teeth. He was doing it again, thinking about the damned Hufflepuff. He pressed the quill hard to the parchment, making the ink spread all over it in the process.

"Quit abusing your notes," Scorpius whispered to him.

"Damn," Ven hissed. He put the quill over the ruined notes in defeat. "Borrow me yours later."

"Borrow someone else's," Scorpius said sternly. After Albus had ruined his Astronomy notes last year he had been very reluctant to borrow his notes to anyone.

"Like whose? Potter's?" Ven grimaced. "I can't read those..." Not that he would really even want to read Potter's messy handwriting.

"I was thinking about Cross," Scorpius whispered with a frown on his face.

"Malfoy! Zabini! Pay attention!" Professor Norwood exclaimed.

There was snickering around the classroom and Scorpius' cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"Ten points from Slytherin. From each of you," Professor added and turned to write on the blackboard. "As I was saying Goller's transfiguration schemes establish..."

Ven sighed. What a perfect way to start a day.


	45. Chapter 45 For Whatever Reason

A/N: Sorry for the long hiatus. I haven't been in a mood to write this. So I apologize in advance for the quality of this chapter. This chapter has lots of Ven, and quite a lot of cussing. I have no idea when the next chapter will be ready. I have started it but we'll see when I have time to finish it.

* * *

Chapter 5. For Whatever Reason

The day of the Slytherin versus Hufflepuff game dawned. The weather was cool but sunny and the stands were crammed. The Gryffindor student, Emil Creevey, was once again very eager to comment the match.

"We're here for the Slytherin versus Hufflepuff game, the final fight for the second place since Gryffindor's final score of 780 points is nearly impossible to beat," he announced proudly.

Ven could hear Sophia growling as their team walked to the pitch. Knowing they weren't going to win the cup after all angered her. She took Quidditch very seriously.

"On the Slytherin side of the field we have the Captain Goyle, followed by the Chasers Zabini, Rosier, and Ferguson, the Beater Bulstrode, the Seeker Cringe, and the Keeper Flint. Looks like the snakes are ready to eat some badgers.

"And on the Hufflepuff side of the field," Creevey continue. "The Captain Jones with the Chasers Appleby and Scamander, the Beaters Kerr and Larkins, the Seeker Macmillan, and... Who's that?"

All the eyes on the stands turned to where the Hufflepuff team stood. Ven's brows furrowed and he glared at the Hufflepuff team.

"Looks like the Hufflepuffs' have changed their keeper!" Creevey exclaimed. "What a move! Hufflepuff has replaced Alistair Nott with Jackson Dockery! Slytherins don't look happy about the sudden change of Keepers."

Sophia Goyle shook hands with Jones and tried to crush his fingers.

"The Snitch and the bludgers are out!" Creevey said and the fourteen brooms got up to the air. "Hufflepuff's Marcy Appleby has the quaffle!"

Ven glanced at Rosier who was already flying towards Appleby.

"From Appleby to Scamander! Scamander wards off Rosier, damn she looks angry!"

"Concentrate," Ven hissed to Acacia.

"Look who's talking," she snarled. "It's not my fault you're not helping!"

"Scamander tries to score–! Darius Flint counters! Quaffle to Ferguson! To Zabini! Back to Ferguson... And Ferguson scores! Slytherins lead! Dockery will have a lot to prove! Ferguson has the quaffle again! Passes to Rosi– No! Jones cuts the Slytherin attack short! Quaffle to Appleby!"

The quaffle moved back to the Hufflepuffs.

"Appleby passes to Scamander! Back to Appleby and she scores! It's 10-10 situation and Ferguson has the quaffle! Ouch! That must have hurt! Ferguson got the bludger to the back of his head! Looks like Larkins wants to get him back to the infirmary! Scamander passes the quaffle to Jones, Jones to... Ouch! Goyle hit the bludger straight to Jones and now Zabini has the quaffle! We're having such a bludger jubilee! Zabini flies towards the goal spots – Appleby gets a bludger to her elbow by Bulstrode – Rosier blocks Scamander–"

Ven's grip of the broom made his knuckles hurt. The quaffle was on his other hand. He was ready to score. Now all he had to do was to pass Nott. His eyes narrowed. No. There was that stupid reserve keeper instead of Nott. Ven felt enraged.

"Zabini tries to score and...!" Creevey exclaimed and it was like everyone at the stands was holding their breath at the same time. "He fails! Poor try from the Slytherins, Dockery won't fall into the same trick twice! Quaffle to Scamander! Scamander glides with the quaffle! Bulstrode aims the bludger at him...! Kerr strikes in between and takes hit instead! His nose looks horrible! Scamander scores for Hufflepuff and the badgers are cheering!"

* * *

Alistair sighed, looking at the clock on the wall. The game had just begun.

He didn't really want to skip classes and barricade himself into the dorm. He was falling already behind with homework and only day had passed. They were given an essay to write by Professor Norwood and Transfiguration had never been Alistair's favourite subject. Professor Blishwick instead had assigned them to study the effects of _Sieboldianas _in Bruise Treating Draughts_._

Alistair glared at the Potions text book and the text book glared back at him. He didn't feel like studying.

"Perhaps I should have gone to watch the game," he muttered but ignored shook the thought away. No, that wouldn't have been good. Right now, this was the only right option. Slytherins would be there.

His Quidditch robes were on a neat pile on the end of his bed. He moved them on the bottom of his trunk. Maybe next year he would continue in the team. Maybe.

* * *

"It's 70-50 for Hufflepuff and Macmillan has spotted the Snitch! So has Cringe! Both seekers are after the 150 points the Snitch will bring! Cringe closely behind Macmillan, Macmillan leans forward, reaches for the Snitch...! There goes the bludger! Both Seekers are unaffected! Cringe reaches for the Snitch as well!"

Up in the air two seekers were flying side by side. Kerr, the Hufflepuff beater with a bloody nose, hit a bludger towards Evanna Cringe and Layla Macmillan. The Slytherins at the stands gasped when the bludger hit Cringe's broom handle, making her lost control of it for couple seconds. And that had been enough.

"Macmillan caught the Snitch!" Creevey announced. "Hufflepuff wins the game! 220 points! Looks like the badgers have kicked the snakes down! Yes, Hufflepuffs take the current second place, and Gryffindor keeps their top position and paws on the Quidditch Cup victory!"

The Hufflepuffs on the stands and down at the pitch cheered loudly. Macmillan was raised to Larkins' shoulders. Kerr was wiping his bloody nose and high-fiving Appleby.

"Party at the common room!" he exclaimed.

"Drinks for everyone!" Larkins added. "Hot lions and eagles invited!"

Cringe muttered something about how she would have caught the Snitch without that bludger. Sophia Goyle instead angrily passed her broom to Bulstrode and marched away from the pitch, swearing loudly.

"She'll need some time to calm down," Bulstrode said to the rest of the team.

Marcel grimaced. "But she'll kill us when she comes back," he said.

"Not if she can't catch us first," Darius confided. "Zabini, will you come with us to the kitchens? I bet Goyle won't follow us there. The Puffs' common room is way too close."

"I don't need to run away from her," Ven snarled.

"Well it's your life in danger if you don't hide," Darius snorted and as a hint made a sign of slitting his throat.

* * *

"You won?!" Alistair squealed when the groups of celebrating Hufflepuffs returned to the basement. "Really?!"

"Lelliekins caught the Snitch!" Larkins laughed and ruffled the girl's hair. "She was amazing! The snake Seeker was more like a snail on a broom than an actual player!"

"And we shouldn't forget Dockery here," Kerr said. He was holding his arm around Marcie's waist. "He let in only a handful of Quaffles. Not bad for a newbie!"

Alistair grinned at Jackson and Toby who both gave him thumbs up and for a small, fleeting moment there were nothing wrong in his life. He felt so relieved. The game had gone well; he hadn't let them down by not playing. He had nothing to worry about.

"And now it's time for a party!" Toby exclaimed. When had he climbed on the table, Alistair didn't know. "Bring out the booze!"

"You're underage!" Kerr – who had already ditched Marcie for butterbeer and beer bottles – barked and kicked Toby down from the tabletop. "Stick to the butterbeer, kid!"

"You said drinks for _everyone_, dumbass!" Toby yelled from the floor.

"I_ lied_! Kerr exclaimed victoriously. There were uncontrollable bursts of laughter when younger students tried to pull Kerr down. "What would Professor Buttonpress say if I gave you snot-nosed brats booze?!" he laughed while the fourth years kept him down.

"We don't care!" Chastity snickered and raised a beer bottle. "Beer is for everyone! Let's parteeh!"

"YEAH!"

* * *

For a Sunday the Slytherin common room was unusually quiet and empty. The way the game against Hufflepuff hadn't raised the spirits under the lake. In the corner of the common room Albus was playing Wizard's Chess with Scorpius. Scorpius stared at chess board intently, tapping chin and considering his next move.

"Bishop to B3," he said at last and Albus sneered when Scorpius' bishop destroyed his pawn.

"Malfoy?" Ven said, gaining a frustrated shush from Albus.

"Don't you see we're busy right now?" Albus groaned. "Knight to D5."

"I want to talk with Malfoy, not with you," Ven spat viciously and Albus pouted, stuffing his mouth full of squirming chocolate worms. Ven rolled his eyes. "My apologies Potter. Feel free to answer as well. So, are you two a couple?" he asked.

Albus almost choked on the chocolate.

"A couple?! Me and Scorp?!" he managed to splutter. "As in a real couple?! You gotta be kidding me, Zabini! That's just stupid!"

"Do I look like I'm kidding here, Potter?" Ven snarled, remembering why he had wanted to speak only with Scorpius.

"Do I look like I fancy blokes to you?" Albus snarled back playfully and even fluttered his eyes.

"It just seems so to me," Ven said. "Since you're always together and neither of you has a girlfriend."

He had decided to ignore all the times Albus had sneaked out to the girls' lavatory. The ghost couldn't be considered as a proper girlfriend. And what came to Scorpius, there had been no one. Not even after people had stopped asking about the possible relationship between him and certain Rose Weasley.

"I just don't feel like dating anyone," Scorpius said shortly. "Not even Albus," he added lightly and Albus grinned at that.

"So you two aren't a couple", Ven said, crossing his arms. "I knew that was a possibility."

"So what?" Albus asked, throwing his arm over Ven's shoulder. "Do you fancy either of us, then? Too bad Scorp's not interested, I would probably be a little bit too much for you to handle."

"You like blokes?" Ven asked, frowning.

Albus waved his hand. "Blokes, girls," he said nonchalantly. "Mostly girls but I wouldn't mind a bloke if I happened to fall in love. There's not much difference anyway, is there? But I never thought you would want a piece of me, Zabini," Albus teased.

"I actually prefer blondes. No offense, Potter", Ven said, getting quite amused by Albus' antics, even though he most of the time found the younger Potter brother annoying. "And I don't fancy you, Malfoy," Ven added when he noticed Scorpius had paled significantly.

"None taken", Albus hummed. "But you fancy some bloke, then?" And when Ven nodded, Albus practically beamed. "I quite suspected it," he said proudly, "but you know, can't push a bloke to come out from the closet."

"Yes, thank you", Ven said blankly, all amusement he had felt merely a minute ago being drained away. "But I wouldn't say _fancy_ because–"

"Is he from our year?" Albus asked, interrupting Ven.

"Yes," Ven said.

"A Slytherin?" Ven shook his head at the question. Albus grazed his chin. "Oh, well. Not many pretty blonde blokes in our house anyway. Except Scorp," Albus said. "He's a Ravenclaw, then. They're pretty handsome."

"Luke Corner", Scorpius chimed in. "He's a blond."

"But he has a girlfriend," Albus stated with a grimace. "Flannery?"

"He's not a blond. He's more like a brunet," Scorpius corrected. "What about–?"

Ven groaned out loud, making both Albus and Scorpius raise their brows at him. "It's not a Ravenclaw," he said, somehow knowing this couldn't end well. "Could you–?"

"He's a Gryffindor!" Albus exclaimed. "Just say it's not the frigging Leonard Yale... I never thought he would be anybody's type. Not to mention, yours. Not that if you like him–"

"It's not Leonard Yale," Ven hissed through his gritted teeth. "He's not even a Gryffindor." Ven sighed. "It's Alistair Nott, okay?"

Saying it aloud didn't actually help at all. If anything, it made things worse.

"A Hufflepuff!?" Albus cried out, gaining glares from the other side of the room. Hufflepuffs were a quite touchy subject.

"No need to shout it," Ven said, getting annoyed. Why didn't he just walk away from this situation when he had a chance?

"A Hufflepuff? A frigging Hufflepuff?" Albus continued ranting loudly. "Not that there's actually anything wrong with Hufflepuffs," he said. "I just can't see you being lovey dovey with a Hufflepuff. Or with anyone else for that matter."

"I'm not planning to be _lovey dovey_, as you put it, with him", Ven said coldly but his words fell on deaf ears.

"Nott's dating Macmillan," Scorpius added.

"No, he's not," Albus argued. "Macmillan is with Jones now. I saw them snogging close to the kitchens! They were getting quite handsy," he added, wiggling his brows. "If you know what I mean."

"So Ven could actually be lovey dovey with Nott", Scorpius said with a wide smile.

"I'm still here," Ven snorted. "And I'm not going to… Do any of that lovey dovey stuff."

"So what _are_ you going to do?" Albus asked, amused. "Ravage him in the shower after Quidditch practice? Straight to the business and all that?"

Albus' comment made Ven smirk. "That sounds like a plan to me," he said. "More like a part two of it."

Scorpius stared at him. "You're not serious?"

"What else could I do?" Ven asked sarcastically and shrugged. It was still, in a way, the best idea he had.

"Get over it?" Scorpius suggested, making Ven only glare at him murderously. _Not helpful_, Ven thought angrily.

"Use your Zabini charm," Albus suggested jokingly. "Didn't your grandma get married again? And what is she? 78?" Albus smirked. "Hypothetically you have all the chances to get Nott," he said. "Except if he's straight. And maybe even then."

"Who's straight?" Acacia Rosier asked curiously, appearing from nowhere and hugging Ven from behind. Ven swiftly pushed the girl away.

"Not your bloody business, Rosier," Ven snapped.

"Ouch, touchy," Rosier snickered. "Somebody needs to get some."

That hit the nerve. "Fuck you, fuck all! Fuck you all to bloody fucking hell!" Ven raged and marched out the common room. Albus grimaced when the slam of their dorm room echoed all the way back to the common room.

Scorpius sighed. "We should go, Al," he said, collecting the chess pieces back to his bag, wondering what the worst thing that could've already happened was. Hurricane, apparently. Albus stared at the mess in their dorm. Ven had turned it upside down in mere minutes.

"Looks like Acacia knows what she's talking about," Albus said, closing the door after them.

"Har har, Potter," Ven snarled. "Very funny."

"Isn't that my trunk?" Albus asked, confused. "What're you looking for?"

"That bloody map of yours!" Ven spat viciously.

"The Marauders' Map?"

"Are you planning to go find Nott?" Scorpius asked. "Right now?" Ven nodded at that but didn't stop rummaging Albus' trunk. "It's almost curfew. He's probably at their common room," Scorpius tried to reason his friend.

Ven ran a hand through his hair. "It was that bloody Rosier's comment," he sighed, gritting his teeth and slumping down.

"Someone owes a knut to the swear jar," Albus noted with a crooked grin. He found Ven's behaviour positively amusing.

"And what if you'd found Nott?" Scorpius asked, hands on his hips. "What would you have done?"

"Probably molested him," Albus suggested.

"It's not your bloody business what I would have done," Ven growled at Albus but he sounded more defeated than actually angry.

"So he would have molested him," Albus said. "Quite serious crush you have, Zabini."

"Sounds more like an obsession," Scorpius sighed.

"Could you two shut up about this now?" Ven snarled. "I really don't care what you think since you're seemingly not going to help."

"It's true, though," Albus hummed, grinning at Scorpius. "He doesn't fancy, he obsess." He turned back at Ven. "Does Nott not know about being obsessed over by you?" he asked.

"Of course he doesn't know," Ven said. "Kind of," he added.

"What have you done?" Scorpius asked, eyes widening in horror, brain going through all possible things Ven could have done.

"I kissed him," Ven said simply.

Scorpius blinked. He had expected that Ven had at least tried some curse or hex or potion at least but he was sure that wasn't the whole truth. "And...?" he pressed.

"He cried," Ven said. "So I kissed him again. After that Jones showed up."

"You made him _cry_?" Scorpius couldn't believe his ears.

Albus could barely hold back his laughter. "Seriously, mate. That's sick," he snorted. "You must be an awful kisser!"

"Albus!" Scorpius shouted, shocked.

"Come on, Scorp", Albus said and beckoned at Ven. "He made Nott cry. Baaaaad kissing."

"Nott probably felt threatened," Scorpius explained patiently. He looked at Ven, disappointment clearly showing, and sighed. "For Merlin's sake, why did you do something so immature?" he asked.

Ven just shrugged, pulling his legs close to his chest. He wasn't actually sure. He had just went to see the Hufflepuffs – mainly Nott, though, now that he tried to remember what had happened – practicing, and the opportunity had been too hard to ignore when he saw Macmillan leave.

"Because I wanted to," Ven said shortly.

"You're a selfish git, Zabini, did you know that?" Albus asked jokingly. "You go and kiss Nott like that. No wonder he... Oh. My. Merlin." Albus glanced at Scorpius, eyes gleaming. "That's why Nott didn't play in the last game!"

Scorpius raised a brow.

"Don't you get it?" Albus blurted. "They used a spare keeper 'cause Zabini had freaked him out!"

"And they still managed to kick us till the third place," Scorpius said, brows knitting together.

"For once you're missing the point, Scorp," Albus said cheekily. "Nott didn't show up in the important game because our idiotic friend managed to scare him. Badly, I may add."

"Now that you said it like that Nott have missed Transfiguration lessons, too", Scorpius said thoughtfully. "So he's avoiding Ven. Nott's most likely straight, and possibly homophobic."

"He's _not_," Ven threw in.

"And how do you know?" Albus snorted. "You scared him that badly. He must be straight. I mean it was a really important game."

Ven shook his head. "No," he said with a slight, satisfied smirk. "He was scared that he might have liked it."

"Who might have...? Bloody hell, Potter!" Darius exclaimed, looking around the room from the now open door.

"It was Zabini!" Albus shouted. "Why is everybody always blaming me when our room is a mess?"

Darius picked up a piece of clothing and raised a brow. "Well, I didn't know Zabini owns a jumper with a capital A on it," he said and tossed the jumper to Albus.

"Fuck off, Flint," Albus groaned.

"Sorry, no can do," Darius laughed. "What were you talking about earlier?" he asked with a grin. "Some bird?"

"Yes. Quidditch bitches", Ven said quickly. "Like Elladora Bolt. She has a great arse."

"That she does," Darius agreed, swallowing the bait whole.

"I prefer Dinah Warrington!" Albus exclaimed.

"Warrington's arse is overrated," Darius said, flipping off Albus. "Bolt's arse instead–"

Ven retreated to his bed, not bothering to listen to the useless argument between his dorm mates. He could still feel Scorpius' eyes on him, though. Talking to them about Nott had been a mistake. They didn't understand. And as Ven struggled to fall asleep, he didn't understand either.


End file.
